--- title: 34% of Kids Eat Fast Food on a Given Day, Study Says description: New federal data reveal that in 2011-2012, more than one third of kids and adolescents ate fast food on a given day canonical: https://time.com/4035490/fast-food-kids/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-16T04:01:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:31:59.939Z article:section: Health og:title: 34% of Kids Eat Fast Food on a Given Day, Study Says og:description: New federal data reveal that in 2011-2012, more than one third of kids and adolescents ate fast food on a given day og:url: https://time.com/4035490/fast-food-kids/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaaf3798de768a62d/698863b60b72e34f736e5d3d/fast-food.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5120 og:image:height: 2880 og:image:alt: a fast food tray full of hamburgers og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 34% of Kids Eat Fast Food on a Given Day, Study Says twitter:description: New federal data reveal that in 2011-2012, more than one third of kids and adolescents ate fast food on a given day twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaaf3798de768a62d/698863b60b72e34f736e5d3d/fast-food.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 34% of Kids Eat Fast Food on a Given Day, Study Says > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=262e73f8-43bd-42cb-b82f-46fd15ec9d5b&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Should I Eat Pizza? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Eat Pizza?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NvpgAWn5.m3u8) (1:39)  _Published 2015-02-12. You might be surprised that four out of five health experts give pizza the thumbs up. But don’t be fooled: these are not greasy thumbs._ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Sep 16, 2015 4:01 AM UTC by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Sep 16, 2015 4:01 AM UTC By now, we know that consistently eating fast food is not a good choice for our waistlines or our health. But new federal data reveal that more than one third of kids and adolescents eat fast food on any given day. The study, published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, looked at the latest data from 2011-2012 gathered from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Researchers found that kids and adolescents ate an average of 12.4% of their daily calories from fast food. Kids ages 12 to 19 ate twice as many calories from fast food restaurants as children ages two to 11\. In total, close to 34% of children and adolescents from ages two to 19 ate fast food on a given day. **MORE**: [25 Fast Food Chains Ranked on Antibiotics Usage](http://time.com/4033496/fast-food-antibiotics/) The researchers did not find any differences in caloric consumption by gender, weight or poverty status. However, they did find that non-Hispanic Asian children ate considerably less calories from fast food restaurants compared to non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black and Hispanic children. “Previous studies have reported that acculturation to the U.S. lifestyle plays an important role in the adoption of unhealthy behaviors, such as fast food consumption, in Asian-American and other immigrant groups,” the study authors write. A healthy diet is important for a healthy weight, and eating fast food fare has been linked to weight gain among adults and poorer diet quality among children, the researchers note. According to the CDC, obesity among children has more than doubled in kids and quadrupled in adolescents over the [last three decades](http://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/obesity/facts.htm). ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] You might be surprised that four out five health experts are giving pizza the thumbs up. But don't be fooled. These are not greasy thumbs. Delivery is a nutritional minefield. One slice of sausage has 14 grams of fat. Pizza is the number one source. Of solid fat intake for kids. 20 % of the pizza that kids eat comes from school cafeterias. Which is pretty much equal to the fast food kind in fat finds a study by Jennifer Poti. Beware the fatty, salty topping. Things warns Lisa Powell. Here 2015 study found that on days when kids eat pizza they take in more calories, saturated fat, and sodium then usual. The trick here is rethinking the pie. Pizza can be as harmless as an open faced sandwich filled with vegetables whole grains and even fruits says Adam Drewnowski. It has a lot going for it. Tomato sauce packs more antioxidants than raw tomatoes, found one 2015 study from the University of Barcelona. In one recent study, Emily Combet developed a nutritionally perfect pizza, with less saturated fat. Less sodium and more fiber. 81 % of kids liked it as much as the regular kind, and 77 % agreed. So yes, by all means eat it, but let your love for pizza be your excuse to cook more. 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