AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Adults living with children consume more fat — the equivalent of almost a whole pepperoni pizza every week — than adults who do not live with children, a new study has found.
The University of Iowa and University of Michigan health system study found that adults living with children ate an extra 4.9 grams of fat daily, including 1.7 grams of saturated fat. Adults living with children also were found to be more likely to eat high-fat foods and snacks.
“Adults with children in the home ate more of those snacks and other foods that we considered convenience foods,” said Helena Laroche, a researcher at the University of Iowa.
“These dietary choices may be due to time pressures, advertising aimed at children that also includes adults or adults’ perception that children will eat only hot dogs or macaroni and cheese,” Miss Laroche said. “Once these foods are in the house, even if bought for the children, adults appear more likely to eat them.”
The study, published in the online edition of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, saw researchers monitor the eating habits of 6,600 adults, ages 17 to 65 who were and were not living with children younger than 17.
Miss Laroche warned, however, that these potential reasons why adults with children at home might eat more fat require additional research to determine if they are indeed causes of the problem.
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