Washington (SmartAboutHealth) - This week, experts have come out at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s annual meeting in Seattle to talk about the growing issue of food allergies in kids.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently stated 3 million kids in the U.S. had food allergies. It is becoming very common for kids to be allergic to foods such as milk, fish, as well as peanuts.

This marks a 20% increase in just the last 10 years alone.

Experts at the meeting presented two studies and gave thoughts as to why the trend of food allergies continues.

One belief is that kids in the U.S. are growing up in environments that are too sterile.

Because they are too sterile, their immune systems are weaker, making them more prone to allergies.

Another issue may be obesity as kids may be consuming too much of foods such as fish, peanuts, milk, etc.

No matter the cause, food allergies are continuing to be a growing problem among U.S. kids.