Kids can eat anything right? Their metabolism is so fast and they are so active that a little sugar here and there isn’t a bad thing. Right? Ehhh. Junk food is junk food, and it isn’t good for anyone–regardless of age.

So how much junk food are kids eating? And is it a problem? Let’s dive in.

Kids Eat A Lot Of Junk…

If you are a parent, you get it. Even if you aren’t a parent, you were a kid at some point, so you also get it. Trying to convince a kid that the snacks all their friends are eating are no good and that they should stick to whole foods and regeneratively raised meats–good luck with that.

According to this study, one in every five calories consumed by children come from junk food. That is an alarmingly high 20%. The study observed eating habits of more than 29,900 children aged between 2 and 19 years old and over 44,500 adults over the age of 20. Ok, side note: is a 19 year old really considered a kid? Anyway, moving on.

Researchers concluded that based on their findings, the overall consumption of junk food remained high and stable for children.

Stable? This is the interesting part. You see, the rate of childhood obesity has steadily increased year over year for the past decade. So what’s going on if kids are eating the same amount of junk food, but obesity rates continue to climb? One explanation could be how we define junk food. Cookies, chips, candy are obvious junk, but what about a plant-based meat alternative patty or a vitamin-enriched granola bar? Could these foods, that are often marketed as healthy options, act as unaccounted for junk food? Maybe.

Another explanation could simply be that kids are now more sedentary than ever before. Increased screen time means kids are spending less time being active outdoors. The pandemic didn’t help either, as kids spent so much time inside staring at screens that even their eyesight deteriorated.

The solution? I’ll state the obvious here: kids need to eat less junk and spend more time outside being active. As parents or future parents, it is our responsibility to set our future generations up for success.

The Latest On Our Buddy, Bill

Follow the money. Always follow the money. I’ll keep this brief since we’ve chatted plenty about all things Bill Gates and his problematic food policy agenda in past issues. No surprise here, but if you peel back the layers ofthe Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and follow the money like they did inthis article, you won’t find anything good. Mr.Gates has a lot of money, and with that comes a lot of influence. It is a real shame that over $6 billion worth of funds have been funneled through his foundation to lobby on behalf of industrial farming and fund innovation forf ake meats and technological “fixes” that create more problems than they solve. This guy is the worst. Ammaright?

Tonic Shots

• Stick it to Mr. Gates and shop for some meat that is helping our planet, instead of harming it.
• Speaking of our amazing planet, take a world tour of coffee with this awesome startup. Try it today and get 50% off.
• Looking for a healthy snack for the kiddos? Give them these to try. They are not Bill Gates approved (which is actually a good thing.)
• Speaking of kids, here is an interesting podcast on what kids aren’t learning in school that maybe they should be.