Candy Not So Dandy for a Lot of Trick-or-Treaters
10/26/2012
Pixland/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- With Halloween nearly upon us, the American Dental Association and PopCap Games surveyed children ages 5 to 13 to gauge their feelings about the big day.
Not surprisingly, 94 percent of kids say they go trick-or-treating and two-thirds say it’s their favorite holiday of the year.
The most popular Halloween activities are in this order: trick-or-treating, dressing up in a costume and getting lots of candy.
But in something of a Halloween shocker, nearly eight out of ten youngsters agree that “too much candy is bad for me,” with slightly more girls than boys believing it to be so. About two out of three admit they eat too much candy during Halloween.
Dentists and parents should take heart in the finding that 89 percent of kids would still enjoy Halloween if it was more about other fun stuff and less about candy. While this may be wishful thinking on their part, 93 percent say they’d sooner accept a video game than a piece of candy.
Meanwhile, 42 percent of trick-or-treaters say they're concerned about getting cavities from munching on Halloween candy.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio