Number of Children Treated For Food-Related Choking Emergencies Increases In U.S., Study Finds

Researchers have observed a dramatic increase in the number of children that underwent emergency treatment for food-related choking in the last decade.

It is not uncommon to see children gobble their food without chewing. This frequently leads to choking. In a study on the same lines, researchers from Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that the number of children that underwent emergency treatment for food-related choking has increased in the last decade.

For the study, researchers analyzed nonfatal food-related choking among children 14 years of age or younger from 2001 through 2009. They found over 12,000 cases were reported in the 9 year- course of the study, which equals 34 children each day.

Choking on hard candy was most common, accounting for 15 percent of the total cases. Another 13 percent of the incidents were caused by choking on other types of candy, 12 percent by choking on meat other than hot dogs and another 12 percent on bones.

"Other high-risk foods, such as hot dogs, seeds and nuts, were more likely to require hospitalizations," said Gary Smith, MD, DrPH, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy in a press release. "These foods have high-risk characteristics that make them more likely to block a child's airway or make them more difficult to chew, which can lead to more serious choking events."

More than half of the cases were reported among children aged 4 and below. The number of choking incidents in children decreased slowly till the age of 7 and then remained the same till the age of 14. However, in case of candy choking, the number of choking incidents increased with increase in age.

Researchers of the study pointed out that measures needed to be taken in order to reduce the number of food-related choking incidents in the U.S. Some of these measures include "placing warning labels on foods that pose a high choking risk, changing the design of foods consumed by children to reduce the risk of choking, and developing public awareness campaigns to educate parents about the danger of food-related choking among children."