For more than 3,000 infants and toddlers, french fries are the most commonly eaten vegetable.

Every day, 25% of 1 to 2 year olds do not eat a single fruit or vegetable. Don’t believe me? I’ll have you know, 1 in 4 toddlers eats hot dogs, bacon, or sausage once a day while 10% of toddlers eat pizza daily.

A 1 to 2 year old infant needs 950 calories daily but the average caloric intake is 1,220. American infants are consuming an excess of 270 calories a day. That’s equivalent to two cans of Coke a day or a pound of fat every 13 days. Yum.

40% of kidsages 2 to 11 asktheir parents to take them to

McDonald’s at least once a week.

ONCE A WEEK.

84 % of parents GIVE IN AT LEAST

Advertising has a huge effect on children and their food preferences. In 2009, children age 6 -11 saw 59% more ads for Subway, 26% more for McDonald’s & 10% more for Burger King than in 2007.

Interestingly, fast food companies are also guilty of racial profiling. African American kids and teens are exposed to at least 50% more fast food ads than their white counterparts.

Although fast food companies claim they provide healthy choices, only 12 out of 3,039 possible meal combinations intended for children met nutritional criteria. It’s a slim to none chance that any kids meal will be as nutritious as it is delicious.

BY AGE 16,

HAS EATENthe average American

2,400 pounds of sugar

Ironically, 50% of this sugar is from high-fructose corn syrup in fat-free foods. If you thought food without fat was too good to be true- you were right.

No, we aren’t literally eating spoonfuls of table sugar. Most of our sugar intake isn’t from cakes, cookies, or sweets, it’s from liquids that we don’t think even think about. Fruit juice, sports drinks, and soda are the top 3 culprits of America’s sugar overdose.

If American kids keep expanding horizontally, our country will eventually be plagued with serious health issues such as diabetes, cancers, and stroke. Besides health issues, productivity will also suffer from days taken off due to health related problems. I mean, do you really want America to end up looking like this?

You may not think this is a real problem, but 80% of children who were overweight at 10 -15, are obese at 25. In the US, 36 states had an obesity rate higher than 25%. The childhood obesity rate in Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia is greater than 30%.

AGES 6-19 WERE

As of 2010 ALMOST 30% OF KIDS

CLINICALLY OBESE

Melnick, Melanie. “Study: Fast-Food Ads Target Kids with Unhealthy Food, and It Works.” Time Healthland. N.p., 08 11 2010. Web. 4 Nov 2011. < http://healthland.time.com>.

“Statistics.“ Obesity in America. N.p., 2011. Web. 4 Nov 2011. <www.obesityinamerica.org/statistics>.

“Overweight and Obesity.“ Center for Disease Control. N.p., 04 21 2011. Web. 4 Nov 2011. <www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood>.

Rettner, Rachel. “Fast Food Ads Don’t Give Kids a Healthy Chance.” My Healthy News Daily. N.p., 08 11 2010. Web. 4 Nov 2011. <http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com>.