Eating Fast Food and Drinking Beverages Are the Causes of Obesity

In recent years, the proportion and frequency of Chinese children eating fast food have increased significantly. According to the survey, 65% of children eat fast food more than once a month in 2008 and 10.9% of children eat fast food more than five times a week in 2015. In addition, the average daily consumption of sugary beverages for urban children in 2008 was 715 ml. Experts warn that children's long-term consumption of high-salt, high-sugar and high-fat fast food is one of the factors inducing overweight and obesity. More than half of the beverages in the beverage market are sugary beverages. Studies have shown that children who drink sugary beverages regularly increase the risk of dental caries and obesity. Experts recommend that parents make their children less oil, salt and sugar food at home if they have the conditions; if they have to eat fast food, they should make more food and exercise after meals. The family has always been the place where children consume beverages most frequently. Therefore, parents should play a decisive role in controlling children's beverage consumption. Children should not drink or drink less sugary drinks, let alone drink instead of water. When choosing drinks, we should look at the "nutritional ingredient table" on the package of drinks. We should try to choose drinks with low content of carbohydrate or sugar. After drinking the drinks, we should rinse our mouths with clear water in time. In recent years, the proportion and frequency of Chinese children eating fast food have increased significantly. According to a survey, 65% of children eat fast food more than once a month in 2008 and 10.9% of children eat fast food more than five times a week in 2015. In addition, the average daily consumption of sugary beverages for urban children in 2008 was 715 ml. These data are the results of a research project published by Professor Ma Guansheng, School of Public Health, Peking University in recent 20 years. In 1998, 2008 and 2015, the research group conducted three surveys on children's dietary behavior, which covered nutritional knowledge and attitudes, food preferences, breakfast behavior, fast food behavior, beverage behavior, frequency of food intake and influencing factors of dietary behavior. Based on the research, the corresponding intervention measures were put forward.

The frequency of fast food among children in China is getting higher and higher, and the "three high" fast food is an important inducement of obesity.

The three surveys of dietary behavior published by the research group show that in 1998, 16.8% of children never eat fast food, the proportion of children who eat more than once a month is only 15.9%; in 2008, the proportion of children who eat more than once a month is only 15.9%. The proportion of children who ate fast food more than six times a month was 7.9%, and the proportion of children who ate fast food more than five times a week in 2015 was 10.9%. The proportion and frequency of children eating fast food increased significantly. Experts pointed out that the harm of children's long-term fast food should not be underestimated. Western fast food is mainly composed of meat, fried food and sugary beverage, with high energy, but few vitamins and dietary fiber. Compared with Western fast food, Chinese fast food is more reasonable in food collocation, but it also uses more oil and salt in the process of making than family food. Long-term consumption of fast food with high salt, sugar and fat is one of the important factors inducing overweight and obesity in children.

Experts suggest that after eating fast food, we should make up more dishes and exercise more. If conditions permit, parents try their best to make food with less oil, salt and sugar for their children at home; if fast food cannot be avoided, they should also try to choose foods rich in vegetables and fruits, and eat less fried food and sugary drinks. If one meal eats more high-energy food, such as fried food, other meals should reduce the consumption of staple food and animal food, increase the intake of fresh vegetables and fruits, and increase the amount of physical activity.

Children's beverage drinking behavior mainly occurs at home. Frequent drinking of sugary beverages endangers their health.

3 surveys of children's dietary behavior also showed that the average daily consumption of sugary beverages for urban children in 1998 was 329 ml, which rose to 715 ml in 2008, and the proportion of consumed beverages decreased slightly compared with 2008.

In 1998, the five most commonly consumed beverages for children were carbonated beverages, milk, fruit juice, yogurt and soy milk; in 2008, milk and dairy products, tea beverages, carbonated beverages, fruit and vegetable juices and milk beverages; in 2015, milk and dairy products, fruit and vegetable juices, tea beverages, vegetable protein beverages and tea. It is gratifying to note that the proportion of children consuming carbonated beverages is declining significantly. Parents should play a decisive role in controlling children's beverage consumption.

At present, more than half of the beverages in the beverage market are sugary beverages. Experts point out that sugary beverages refer to those beverages with monosaccharides or disaccharides and more than 5% sugars added in the process of making, and often drink sugary beverages harmful to children's health. Studies have shown that children who drink sugary beverages regularly increase the risk of dental caries and obesity. Therefore, we should not drink or drink less sugary drinks, let alone drink instead of water. Experts recommend that if you drink beverages, you should choose products manufactured by regular manufacturers instead of "three nothingness" products. In addition, when choosing beverages, we should look at the "nutritional ingredient table" on the beverage packaging, try to choose the beverage with low "carbohydrate" or "sugar" content, and urge children to rinse their mouths with clean water in time after drinking the beverage. In addition, the higher energy intake of sugary drinks can be consumed by moderately increasing physical activity to avoid excess energy being converted into fat accumulation in the body. For example, a candy drink (330 milliliters) contains about 150 kilocalories of energy. A child weighing 50 kilograms needs to run for about 30 minutes to consume that energy.