The ice cream truck, the pool snack bar, and the ball field concession stand are three rites of summer that children enjoy when the mercury starts to rise and the burgers and dogs begin sizzling on the grill. The only problem is, are we enjoying them a little too much? The U.S. Surgeon General reports that since 1980, the percentage of children who are overweight has nearly tripled. Over 8 million young Americans, or 15 percent of all children, are overweight. New studies suggest that one in four overweight children are already showing early signs of type II diabetes, and sixty percent already have at least one risk factor for heart disease. Often times the summer food that kids like to eat the most are the worst things for them to put into their bodies. Processed foods like prepackaged meats, frozen meals, and fast food are often high in sodium, saturated fat, and loaded with calories from fat. As a rule of thumb, only thirty percent of daily caloric intake should be from fat, and most of the time children are getting a much higher percentage from the food they are eating.
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