Kids Food Allergies on the Rise

http://www.EmploymentCrossing.com Food allergies in American children seem to be on the rise, affecting 3 million kids, according to the first federal study of the problem. Experts tell the Associated Press this might be because parents are more aware of allergies, and quicker to have their kids checked out by a doctor. About one in 26 children reported food allergies last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. That's up from one in 30 in 1997. The 18 percent increase is significant enough to be considered more than a statistical blip, said Amy Branum of the CDC, the study's lead author. Nobody knows for sure what's driving the increase. A doubling in peanut allergies — noted in earlier studies — is one factor, some experts said. Also, children seem to be taking longer to outgrow milk and egg allergies than they did in decades past. But also figuring into the equation are parents and doctors who are more likely to consider food as the trigger for symptoms like vomiting, skin rashes and breathing problems. In the past, parents and doctors might have just labeled a child sickly, rather than look for a cause such as a food allergy.

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