CDC Study Finds Food Allergies Rising in Children
According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of young people who had a food or digestive allergy increased 18% between 1997 and 2007. In 2007, approximately 3 million U.S. children and teenagers under age 18 were reported to have a food or digestive allergy in the past year, compared to just over 2.3 million in 1997.
The findings are published in a new CDC data brief, “Food Allergy Among U.S. Children: Trends in Prevalence and Hospitalizations.” The data are from surveys conducted by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.