Children who eat restaurant takeaway meals once a week or more tend to have extra body fat and long-term risk factors for heart disease, a new study suggests.
In the study of 9- and 10-year-olds, the children who ate regular takeaway often also consumed more calories but fewer vitamins and minerals than children who rarely or never ate takeaway, the Archives of Disease in Childhood reports.
Lead author Angela Donin told Reuters: “Frequent consumption of takeaway foods could potentially be increasing children’s risk of future coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes by increasing their LDL cholesterol and body fat.
“Takeaway outlets are increasing, as is consumption with more than half of teenagers reporting eating takeaways at least twice a week.”
In adults, regular consumption of takeaway meals is associated with higher risk of obesity, coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes, but little is known about the effects it may be having on children’s health, Donin said.
The researchers analysed data from the Child Heart and Health Study in England, which looked at potential risk factors for heart disease and diabetes in pre-teens.
Participants included about 2,000 children aged 9 and 10 years at 85 primary schools in London, Birmingham and Leicester.
Food purchased at convenience stores or grocery stores were not included in the category.
Boys were more frequent consumers of carry-out meals than girls, as were children from less affluent backgrounds.
Among regular consumers of takeaway meals, the foods eaten were higher-calorie and higher-fat, while protein and starch intake was lower and intake of vitamin C, iron, calcium and folate was also lower compared with children who didn’t eat these types of meals.
Skinfold thickness, body fat composition and blood fats like LDL (bad) cholesterol all tended to be higher in regular consumers of takeaway meals.
