Children Consuming Fewer Calories, According to National Study

Research on childhood food consumption patterns conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that calorie intake for both boys and girls has dropped significantly from 1999 to 2010. Though the declines in daily calorie consumption were small – seven percent to 2,100 calories for boys and four percent to 1,755 calories for girls – researchers said the trend is definitely moving in the right direction. The declines were driven by a drop in carbohydrate consumption, researchers said. Calories from fat were stable, while calories from protein increased. The report is based on data collected through interviews.