A new study of 500,000 kids and teens in 51 countries discovered that eating a fast-food meal three or more times per week increases the likelihood of developing asthma by 30 percent for six- and seven-year-olds and 40 percent for thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds. Also, members of the study’s group that ate fast foods were more likely to develop allergies, such as hay fever and eczema. Meanwhile, in the first three years after smoking was banned in England in 2007, the number of children admitted to the hospital for severe asthma attacks fell by 6,802 cases. Guardian
We are slowly but steadily increasing our understanding that many of the maladies being suffered by children (and adults) are of our own making. In these kinds of areas, will knowledge be sufficient to change behavior? Will public officials or regulators get involved?
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