Kids who have greater access to fast food outlets tend to have poorer bone quality, researchers have found.
According to the findings of a new UK study, children who live in areas where fast food outlets galore, their bone quality is poorer than kids who have healthy eating options in their vicinity.
For the purpose of the study, researchers at the University of Southampton in the UK looked at the bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) of nearly 1,100 children at birth and again at age 4 and 6.
The data was then collaborated with the number of supermarkets, health specialty stores and fast food outlets within each child’s vicinity.
Results revealed that kids who had greater access to fast food outlets had lower BMD and BMC.
The findings thus confirmed that exposure of mothers and children to unhealthy food environments depleted the kids of bone strength. “These findings suggest that the exposure of mothers and children to more healthy food environments might optimize childhood bone development through its influence on the quality of the maternal diet and dietary choices during childhood,” study’s co-author Cyrus Cooper, Chair of the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) Committee of Scientific Advisors averred.
The findings of the study are published in the current issue of the journal Osteoporosis International.
