The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Iowa and the University of Michigan Health System, found that "adults with children had significantly higher odds of frequently eating pizza, cheese, beef, salty snacks, cakes and cookies, ice cream, bacon/sausage/processed meats and peanuts."
The difference in saturated fat intake equated to eating an extra slice of pepperoni pizza every day. Overall, it was found that adults with children ate 4.7 grams of fat more daily than people who live without children.
The study also found that adults with children at home are more likely to eat cheese and drink milk than those without. Dairy is widely considered to be a food group with higher levels of fat.
The influence of children on a family's diet is a problem, said consumer health advocate Mike Adams, author of "The 7 Laws of Nutrition."
"Too many adults are whipped into foolish dietary practices by their children. They need to stop giving in to whining children influenced by television advertising and start making informed nutritional choices for the whole family," Adams said. "Children will eat healthy food if you stop buying the processed junk food. It's all a matter of standing your ground on issues of health and nutrition."
According to a 1998 study published in the journal Family Economics and Nutrition Review, almost "50 percent of parents believe that meal and grocery choices and restaurant selection are influenced by their children."
This means parents are more inclined to purchase foods that they believe their kids will eat, which include hamburgers, hotdogs and other foods with higher fat content.
The study was conducted by analyzing data of the dietary habits for 6,660 people collected between 1991 and 1994 by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data came from the second phase of a wide-ranging survey known as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III.
The study was published January 4 in the online edition of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.
It can be read in full for free at this link.
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