Nearly Half of California Teenagers Eat Fast Food Daily, Study Finds
Two-thirds of California teenagers drink soda and nearly half eat fast food every day, but one-fourth eat the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily, according to a study released Monday by researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles Center for Health Policy Research, the Contra Costa Times reports.
The study analyzed data from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey. According to the study:
- More than 9%, or 300,000 teens, eat fast food twice a day;
- More than 2%, or almost 90,000 teens, eat fast food three or more times per day;
- California teens drink an average of 1.4 glasses or cans of nondiet soda or other sweetened beverages daily;
- More than one-third of teens drink two or more sweetened beverages daily;
- 17-year-old teenagers drink 40% more soda than 12-year-olds;
- Boys drink 25% more soda than girls;
- Black teens drink nearly twice as many sweetened beverages as white or Asian teens, and Latino teens drink 50% more soda than whites; and
- Soda and fast food consumption increase as household income decreases (Kleffman/Ellis, Contra Costa Times, 9/13).