source of empty calories

Nearly 1 in 3 children in the US are overweight or obese. These children are at an increased risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, asthma and a variety of other health problems. Both greater energy consumption (calories intake) and less physical activity are factors that contribute to the weight problems
it is often seen that mothers complain that their children don't eat much but are gaining weight. 

Scientists at the National Institute of Health tried to find out where the children were getting their extra calories. They examined extensive data on children’s diets to learn more about where the extra calories are coming from. Overall, the top 5 sources of energy were grain desserts (cakes, cookies, donuts, pies, crisps and granola bars), pizza, soda, yeast breads and chicken dishes.
Nearly 40% of the energy consumed by kids and teens comes in the form of “empty” calories. Half of those empty calories come from the solid fats and added sugars in just 6 sources: soda, fruit drinks, dairy desserts, grain desserts, pizza and whole milk.

Experts recommend that kids limit their intake of empty calories to between 8% and 20% of their total calories. But the researchers found that nearly 40% of the children’s total energy came from empty calories. Sugar-sweetened beverages, a major source of empty calories, contributed a whopping 10% of total energy.

“The epidemic of obesity among children and adolescents is now regarded as one of the most important public health problems in the United States,” says study co-author Dr. Jill Reedy of NIH’s National Cancer Institute. The findings suggest that sugar-sweetened drinks should be a major target of efforts to improve our children’s health.