There’s no free lunch, Moms and Dads. Â That trip through the drive-thru may be easy and convenient, saving you the hassle of preparing dinner at home, but it is having lifetime implications for your children.
A study conducted by an academic at the University of London reports that children who consume more fast food grow up to have a lower IQ than those who regularly eat freshly-cooked meals.
4,000 Scottish children aged 3-5 years old were examined to compare the intelligence dampening effects of fast food consumption versus  “from scratch”  fare prepared with only fresh ingredients.
Dr. Sophie von Stumm of the Department of Psychology at the University of London said:
“It’s common sense that the type of food we eat will affect brain development, but previous research has only looked at the effects of specific food groups on children’s IQ rather than at generic types of meals.”
Higher fast food consumption by the children was linked with lower intelligence and this was even after adjustments for wealth and social status were taken into account.
The conclusions of this study confirm previous research which shows long lasting effects on IQ from a child’s diet. An Australian study from the University of Adelaide published in August 2012 showed that toddlers who consume junk food grow less smart as they get older.   In that study, 7000 children were examined at the age of 6 months, 15 months, 2 years to examine their diet.
When the children were examined again at age 8, children who were consuming the most unhealthy food had IQs up to 2 points lower than children eating a wholesome diet.
Tips for Keeping Kids off Processed Food
How to keep your children from eating fast food and nutrient poor processed foods? Â Just don’t buy it or bring it into the house. Â If it’s not in the pantry, your kids won’t be eating it and neither will you. Â Simple as that.
Keep a few containers of healthy snacks like additive and MSG free jerky (here’s the one I buy) and nuts with you in the car for when the family is ravenous and tempted by the drive thru or other unhealthy snacks.
If your kids don’t want the healthy snacks and only are asking for junk food, they aren’t really hungry. It’s either boredom or emotional eating so just say no and wait until you get home to prepare them a decent meal.
For a crazy and extreme video clip of how I taught my kids to hate fast food, click here. Â Trust me, your kids will thank you later when they have an easier time with school and life in general as a result of your efforts!
If you have drawn a line in the sand about fast food at your house too and have tips to share, please tell us about it in the comments section!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
I joke with my friends that I finally understood the appeal of a drive-through when I had my first child. Now with 2 young children, I REALLY understand the appeal. 2 sleeping kids, or one who is awake and one just nodding off? Oh how awesome to just be able to roll down the window and get some food.
But I don’t go. No way. My mom raised us on homecooked meals, and that’s what I provide for my children. We sometimes go to Chipotle for a sit-down meal, but that’s rare. I just cannot bear paying hard-earned money for crap that has almost no nutrition. I have a friend who is a single mom with 3 kids, and she used to provide healthy snacks for her kids (she was the first person I knew to make their own salad dressing!), but I’ve noticed since her husband left she has gotten really lax with their diets. They are constantly sick, all of them have allergies or food aversions or asthma, and she doesn’t seem to see that the McDonalds isn’t helping..it makes me sad.
We gave up fast food long before having a child, well my husband will have some a couple times a year, but not me. I am commenting for two reasons. I want to share the jerky I choose. It is grassfed beef, fabulous and pretty well priced.
The other reason I am writing is because Halloween is pending and my husband is not on board with me about the candy situation. He thinks that Halloween and a few other holidays should be a pass for the kids. My son is 2.5 yrs this year and he will be very aware of the candy while Trick or Treating with his cousins. He is a very reasonable child and I have considered making a 3 pieces of candy deal with him. I still feel guilty about this choice. What do other traditional cooking moms choose to do about such holidays and events?
I would love any feed back and opinion.
Thanks!
Essential fatty acids are essential for proper brain development and functioning.
C’mon isn’t that already spread enough? Move on and share some new topics! Thank you.
Not eating the bun or drinking the soda isn’t going to make more nutrients appear in the food. You’re still eating nutrition lacking meat. One has to consume nutrition rich foods to feed the body and mind.
@Primal Scientist exactly! I don’t need a study to tell me that kids will be dumber if they eat fast food. People have abdicated their common sense and intuition for double blind studies which is one reason why they are led astray by stealth science so easily and by the time the end all and be all study comes along that “proves” the obvious truth to them, they are already disabled or dead.
Have you watched FatHead? By skipping the buns, fries, and soda, just eating the meat, you can lose weight and improve your cholesterol score even though you’re eating fast food.
@Brian I disagree. Parent student ratio will never compensate for the child’s brain being underdeveloped for lack of nutrients.
Those are one and the same … eating fast food IS not thinking about nutrition.
When we began changing our diet more than 7 years ago, I found that we were eating fast food for lunch very frequently because my errands were taking us beyond lunch time and we were tired and hungry. It was very easy to just drive through somewhere. I kicked this habit two ways: I timed our errands so that we left earlier and got home before lunch so we could eat lunch right when we got home, AND, if I knew we would be out longer (if there was even a remote chance) I would simply pack lunches. Simple as that! Nothing fancy – at that time it was as simple as PB&J, a piece of fruit, and milk or water. Not the most nutrient dense meal, but we were still learning and anything I put together for them was far better than a fast food lunch. We were able to kick the fast food habit for dinnertime when I simply got angry enough to say “STOP!” and started making a weekly menu based on our activities. When we had to be at the ball field during dinner, I would pack a simple meal of burritos or homemade burgers wrapped in foil and kept warm in an insulated container. We were the envy of all the other families as we sat there eating our fresh homemade meal in the stands while they stared at their processed cheese nachos! Eventually I invested in a large thermos and we were able to have soup or chili at the ball field when the weather cooled off. When my husband would have to be at church early on a weeknight, in order to maintain a family meal and still not eat out, I took stew in the crockpot and homemade biscuits and we would picnic outside or if it was bad weather we would find a quiet corner in the church building and eat together. Other times, we would simply park the car and eat in the car if there was nowhere else to go. We kicked our fast food habit and never looked back! Get angry about what this horrible food is doing to you and our environment, and let that anger motivate you to make some changes! Eventually, it will become a habit and a way of life and your family will thank you!
This was a very nicely written post. Thank you for the inspiring words.