Good News! Kids Are Eating Less Fast Food, Study Says

While the childhood obesity rate holds steady at an alarming 30 percent, and every day more and more ridiculous fast food items (like the Double Down sandwich) debut, here's something we can actually feel relieved about. A new study from JAMA Pediatrics has shown that the number of children who eat fast food on any given day has decreased between 2003 and 2010 from 39 percent to 33 percent.In addition, caloric consumption from fast food restaurants for children between ages 4 and 9 fell by 110 calories within that timeframe. 

"It is good news with a few important qualifiers," study author Colin Rehm told US News. "We need to make sure that the decrease in calories hasn't been paralleled by a drop in nutrients or food groups."

Researchers specifically saw a drop in pizza, burger, and chicken restaurants, but didn't see a change in sandwiches or Mexican-style fast food restaurants. We guess Taco Bell is still popular with the under-18 set. The study's authors do not feel that this is conclusive enough evidence to determine that kids are healthier, because variables, like the nutrition content of the calories kids did consume, was not taken into account.