Fast Food Does Not Primarily Cause Obesity, Reveals study

A recent study removes the blame from fast food, generally held responsible for causing obesity among American teenagers. They believe unhealthy dietary choices are the main culprit.

Obesity is most commonly associated with consumption of fast food especially in kids. A recent study says that fast food consumption is not responsible for contributing to the burden of obesity.

"Just because children who eat more fast food are the most likely to become obese does not prove that calories from fast food bear the brunt of the blame," said Barry Popkin, professor of nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health under University of Carolina, who led the study, in a press release.

 The study was conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina who said that unhealthy dietary patterns that include minimal fruits and vegetables intake, increase obesity. According to the researchers, busy parents often rely on care-givers who tend to include sweetened beverages and processed food instead of healthy food options.

According to a recent CDC report, obesity has doubled in children and tripled in teens in the last 30 years. 

The researchers based their findings on data collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 2007 and 2010. The food intake patterns at fast food chains, homes and other places for 4,466 children aged between two and 18 were observed over a period of three years.

Fifty percent of the kids were found to be non consumers of fast food. Forty percent of the kids were reported as low consumers of fast food gaining less than 30 percent or equivalent amount of calories from fast food. Ten percent of the kids were found to be voracious fast food consumers, gaining more than 30 percent calories from fast food.

The researchers said that an absence of a proper diet (with less servings of fruits and vegetables) was triggering obesity in kids. "The study presented strong evidence that the children's diet beyond fast- food consumption is more strongly linked to poor nutrition and obesity," said Jennifer Poti, the co-author of the study. "While reducing fast-food intake is important, the rest of a child's diet should not be overlooked."

The researchers want parents to be more vigilant about dietary choices for their kids. The healthier options should primarily include regular servings of fruit and vegetables and avoid sweetened beverages and processed food as much as possible.

An  earlier study  pointed out that economic status and less physical activities increase chances of obesity in kids.