Teenagers show very little interest in calorie contents of food

While many restaurants are listing nutrition facts and calorie counts on menus, this change appears to have very little effect on the ordering habits of teenagers or parents who have young children.

An International Journal of Obesity study explains that although restaurants are striving to offer more health conscious eating options, many individuals appear to show very little interest.

As childhood obesity continues to grow and currently affects nearly 35 percent of children in the United States, health officials are working to develop a variety of different plans to reverse the long-term, extremely dangerous epidemic that has continued growing throughout the world over the past 15 years.

For the study, researchers analyzed food choices of more than 300 children and teenagers, the oldest being 17 years of age. The restaurants ordered from were Wendy’s, KFC, Burger King, and McDonald’s.

Researchers noticed that even while labeling the calorie content of food items, the teenagers still ordered the food they were going to order.

Experts explain that many children are unaware and lack general knowledge, urging parents to take the extra step to inform children about health eating choices.