Sweets Ban at School Parties May Cut Calorie Overload Study
Lends Support for Cutting Back on Cake and Other Sugary Treats
at School Birthday Parties Nov. 18, 2011 -- As childhood obesity
rises, more schools have banned parents from bringing baked
goods and other sugary treats for class parties. Now a new study
suggests those controversial "cupcake crackdowns" may be on the
right track. The study shows that kids can eat as many as one-
third of all the calories they need in a day at a typical half-
hour birthday party. And those calories are coming from foods
high in fat and sugar and low in nutrients -- such as cake,
fruit punch, ice cream, and chips. U.S. Dietary Guidelines
recommend that getting no more than 5% to 15% of your daily
calories from solid fats and added sugars. "No one wants to be
the grinch who stole cupcakes," says David L. Katz, MD, MPH,
director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, in
New Haven, Conn., in an email. "But consider that there are
multiple holidays each year, and e