Children's Health Children's Nutrition and Fitness

Eating fast food at a young age may cause greater weight gain later in life


When you're young, you can eat anything and not gain a pound, right? However, young adults who eat at fast-food restaurants more than twice a week gain, on average, almost 5 kg (11 lbs) more after 15 years than those who limit their burger binges to once a week. A typical fast food meal may contain more than 2,000 calories, the recommended allowance of calories for an entire day. Frequent trips to burger joints simply cause the pounds to pile up faster than teens can metabolize them.