A number of past studies linked fast food with childhood obesity. Now, a new report by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) showed that most kids in the United States are getting about 12% of their total daily calories from various fast food restaurants.

The report by NCHS, part of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), showed that US teens are eating more fast food than younger children. In 2010-11, children from 12 to 19 years old consumed about 17% of their daily calories from fast food, while children from 2 to 11 years old got just 9% of their calories from fast food.

The latest NCHS report revealed that adults got approximately 11% of their daily calories from fast food. More than 30% US kids gulp fast food on any given day, according to the report. Sandra Hassink, president of the Elk Grove Village-based American Academy of Pediatrics, said there are several factors that are encouraging kids to eat fast food, including fast food with cartoon characters.

A number of fast food chains offer toys with meals, and the marketing is working for them, Hassink said. According to the new report, "Children who eat a lot of fast food tend to consume more calories but have a nutritionally poorer diet versus other kids of special concern given that the obesity rate among children has more than doubled in the past 30 years". In 1980, the obesity rate among children was 7%, while in 2012, it was about 18%.