Pizza Ranks as Second-Largest Energy Source for Youth

A University of Illinois study published in Pediatrics finds pizza contributes heavily to calorie, saturated fat and sodium intake among young people.

Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Healthy Food

Gouache-painted editorial illustration of a pizza slice with drooping cheese beside a small pile of salt crystals on a cream plate. — A University of Illinois study published in Pediatrics finds pizza is the second-largest source of energy in young people's diets, with about 20% eating it daily. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Do you plan to change how often your household serves pizza to children?

A study by researchers at the University of Illinois, published in the journal Pediatrics, found pizza is the second-largest source of energy in the diets of young people. About 20% of young people eat pizza every day, and on pizza days their intake of calories, saturated fat and sodium rises sharply.

Why it matters

The findings highlight how a commonly eaten food can meaningfully shape daily nutrition for children and teenagers across the country. Because children do not eat less at their next meal to compensate for pizza snacks, the extra calories add up.

The study reports that pizza eaten as a between-meal snack adds 200 to 365 calories, and that for teenagers pizza accounts for more than a quarter of total daily calories. The extraction does not describe the study's sample size or whether the findings apply equally to every pizza style.

The players

University of Illinois

A public research university whose researchers conducted the study on pizza's role in young people's diets.

Pediatrics

A peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Academy of Pediatrics that carried the study.

The details

Pizza cheese is mostly blocks of saturated fat and concentrated salt, while commercial tomato sauce often contains added sugars and preservatives. The pizza dough is made from refined white flour, which contains no real fibre.

The study was published in Pediatrics; the article reporting it is dated November 9, 2026.

Big Picture

The study appears in Pediatrics, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, adding to its published research on childhood nutrition.

Parents who serve pizza as a between-meal snack should account for the extra 200 to 365 calories, since children do not eat less at their next meal to compensate. Choosing smaller portions or pairing pizza with lower-sodium sides can help limit the rise in saturated fat and salt on pizza days.

The takeaway

Pizza eaten as a snack can add hundreds of calories that children do not offset later in the day, so treating it as an occasional food rather than a daily staple may help keep young people's intake in balance.