
MONDAY, June 1, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. children and teenagers are still downing too many "empty calories" -- primarily from sugary beverages, sweets and pizza, a new government study finds.
The study, based on a long-running federal health survey, did turn up some good news: In recent years, kids have been eating fewer empty calories, versus a decade before.
The bad news is, by 2016, those sources still accounted for more than one-quarter of kids' total calories.
The term "empty" generally refers to food and drinks that provide a lot of calories but little to no nutrition. In this study, empty calories were defined as those coming from added sugars or "solid" fats (like butter and shortening).
Sugary drinks, the study found, have consistently been a top source of U.S. kids'...