Children Get Less Healthy As They Grow

U.S. children eat less healthy choices as they grow older, according to a study by the University of Alabama.

The researchers analyzed food-consumption patterns of nearly 7,000 children in two groups — ages 2 to 3 and 4 to 8 — and developed food group adherence scores based on the children’s intake and the food-guide recommendations.

The researchers define adherence as the degree to which a person’s intake meets a standard or recommendation.

For these two age groups of children, although the number of servings for the food groups significantly increased, the adherence scores significantly decreased with increasing age, say the researchers.

Even small increases in consumption of fruits and vegetables could dramatically improve the overall dietary quality of the 4-to-8-year-old child, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

The researchers suggest that the finding indicates a common tendency among adolescents to abandon healthier eating habits as they become more independent and perhaps have more freedom to purchase their own snack foods.