Health
Health Buzz: Fast Food Linked to Lower Test Scores in Kids
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Amir Khan, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
(U.S. News & World Report)—The more often your child eats fast food, the more likely he or she is to do worse in school, according to a new study in the journal Clinical Pediatrics. Researchers from Ohio State University found that higher consumption in the fifth grade was linked to lower scores on reading, math and science exams in eighth grade.
The researchers analyzed data on 11,470 kids who completed a questionnaire on their food habits, and they found that kids who consumed fast food four to six times per week scored 20 percent lower on tests than kids who didn’t eat any fast food.
While the research cannot conclusively link fast food to low test scores, a number of previous studies linkpoor nutrition to poor cognitive development.
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