HOUSTON – Parents, if you want to improve your children's nutrition, look at the pizza they are eating.
According to a new study, American children take in more calories, fat and salt on days that they eat pizza. In fact, pizza is the second largest contributor to calorie and nutrient intake in children's diets behind desserts like cake and cupcakes.
Data show that on the days that young people eat pizza, it makes up more than 20 percent of their daily calories and their overall calorie intake is much higher.
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Researchers say parents should try to avoid giving pizza between meals as a snack. If pizza is served as a meal, it should be made with healthier ingredients to go with salad or other vegetables.
Because pizza is available in school cafeterias, restaurants and in stores experts say pizza should also be directly addressed in nutrition counseling.
The study was led by researchers at University of Illinois at Chicago and published in 'Pediatrics'.