And the numbers are growing.
The study is being released Monday morning by the American Academy of Pediatrics. It found that 8 percent of children under 18 have a food allergy. That's nearly 6 million children in the United States. And of those, nearly 40-percent had a history of severe reactions.
Some of the most common foods children are allergic to are peanuts, milk and shellfish. The study was done by a local allergy specialist, Dr. Ruchi Gupta with Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Dr. Gupta spoke with ABC7 in a new morning show segment, Rapid Round, where the morning news team cuts through headlines to tell you what you need to know.
ABC7 anchor Judy Hsu asked Dr. Gupta the following questions:
How was this study able to conclude that food allergies affect more children than experts thought?
According to the study, more teenagers experience severe reactions to food allergies than younger kids, why?
For the first time, the study looked at income as a factor and there was surprise finding?
Can kids grow out of allergies?
Do we know why food allergies are on the rise?
If you have a young child with food allergies, what is the most important message for families to understand about this?
