Fast Food Affects Overweight Kids More, Study Finds

June 16, 2004 -- Overweight teens are more vulnerable than lean teens to one of the hazards of fast food — gaining weight. That new finding is prompting some experts to call for parents to talk to their kids about the risks of fast food in the same spirit they would talk to them about the risks of smoking.

A new study reports that not only do overweight teenagers consume more calories in a single fast food meal, but they are less likely to compensate for eating the fast food by making more healthful choices throughout the day.

"Our findings provide a basis for how fast food could promote excessive weight gain," says lead author Cara Ebbeling, a research associate at Children's Hospital, Boston. "In that context, our findings also add to the argument for the decrease in marketing of fast food to children, eliminating fast food in schools and promoting nutritional food campaigns for children."

The study, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, had two parts. First the researchers measured how many calories teens consumed from one extra large meal while eating in a food court. Secondly, the researchers asked, do teens who eat more fast food compensate by eating less in later meals?

According to experts, the results are compelling.

Overweight teens consumed 400 more calories than lean teens in a single fast food meal, although both groups put away more calories than needed. Ebbeling says that the key finding is that overweight adolescents did not compensate for consuming the extra calories in a fast food meal by eating less throughout the day, whereas the lean kids did.

"The study really shows how kids could overeat fast food, that they probably are overeating fast food, and how that could contribute to adolescents being overweight," says Simone French, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota. "It's another peg in the literature that supports fast food is a risky food."

Parents' Advice Is Key

Some nutrition experts say that parents need to take an active role in keeping their kids away from fast food.