Video

Few College Students Have Received the H1N1 Vaccine

Night Lights Could Lead to Depression

Cervarix Has Been Approved by the FDA

The FDA Is Studying the Effects of Lasik Surgery

Painkillers Can Dull the Effects of Childhood Vaccines

Childbirth May Becoming More Complicated

Botox Sponges Might Help Nose Allergies

The FDA Advises on How to Properly Dispose of Medicine

A French Study Shows Cell Phones Do Not Affect Humans

MRIs May Lead to More Back Surgery

Your More Likely to Wash Your Hands If Someone's Watching

Co-Sleeping Is a Leading Cause of SIDS

Night Shifts Don't Have a Major Effect On Surgeons

Exercise May Counter Fatigue from Chemotherapy

Healthy Neighborhoods Could Lower the Risk for Diabetes

A Little Cash Buys a Lot of Calories at the Corner Store

Posted on 10/12/2009, 09:00
By -- Randy Dotinga

Kids are purchasing cheap junk food on way to and from school, survey finds

MONDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Kids who shop at the corner store before or after school purchase nearly 360 calories worth of food and beverage, on average, during each visit, according to a study of Philadelphia students.

Junk food is the most popular purchase, including chips, candy and sugar-sweetened beverages such as soft drinks, the study found. Results are in the November issue of Pediatrics.

For the study, researchers conducted more than 800 surveys of students in grades 4 through 6 in urban areas of Philadelphia. They talked to kids outside corner stores immediately after they made purchases and looked at what they bought in order to collect nutritional data.

More than eight in 10 students surveyed were from families with incomes that were low enough to qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school, the surveys showed.

More than 50 percent of the kids said they shopped at corner stores once a day, five days a week, and nearly 30 percent visited the stores twice a day -- before and after school.

The kids spent a bit more than a dollar, on average, and purchased 356 calories worth of food. Chips made up a third of all purchases, the study authors noted. But with a dollar, they said, the kids could buy an 8-ounce drink, a small bag of chips, candy, gum and a popsicle.

"This is the first study to show what children purchase from corner stores before and after school," lead researcher Kelley Borradaile, of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University, said in a news release from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "It is troubling that so little money buys so many calories. Corner stores are an important part of the urban landscape, and they have a significant impact on the amount and quality of calories children consume."

What should be done? "Promoting items like water, single-serving snacks and fresh fruits are small changes that could yield a significant impact on the quantity and quality of children's food intake," Sandy Sherman, director of nutrition education at the Food Trust, suggested in the news release.

The study was part of an initiative aimed at boosting the amount of fresh fruit and other healthy snacks on store shelves in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Oakland, Calif.

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more on healthy snacks for kids.

SOURCE: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, news release, Oct. 12, 2009

More news in Dieting...

BigHealthTree.com Disclaimer

Bighealthtree.com Does Not Provide Medical Advice. This site, including the above information, is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or health advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified health or medical professional before starting any new treatment, changing existing treatment, or altering your current exercise and/or diet program. If you think you are having a medical emergency, call 911 (or the emergency services in your area) or your doctor immediately.

Rating: 2.9 / 5 (256 votes)