Kids & Junk Food

Just about every kid likes junk food. But the amount they eat every day might astonish you.

So, how bad can an occasional snack be for them? Occasional is the key word here. It seems like most kids are eating what are called empty calories more often than most of us thought.

Empty calories are just that, food that can help add calories to a daily diet but won't do much for a kids health. As a matter of fact, these empty calories, or junk food, are one big reason we're seeing heavier children than ever.

A new government study found almost half of what a kid takes in to their body every day comes from just six different types of food that experts have called empty calories. They are soda, sugary fruit drinks, grain desserts like cake and cookies, dairy desserts like ice cream, and whole milk, which is much fatter than skim.

It's hard to blame just one source for this bad diet. Kids don't always have the best lunches at school, fast food is readily available and cheap and kids are bombarded with commercials advertising these empty calorie choices. But the head of the CDC is calling the current obesity epidemic a "winnable" battle and getting this empty calorie issue under control is one way to start off on the right foot.