More than
three-quarters of U.S. children eat fruit on any given day,
and nearly 92 percent dig into vegetables in a 24-hour
period, a new U.S. health survey reveals.
But consumption of fruits and vegetables -- sources of
valuable nutrients -- declines as kids move from preschool
to high school, according to the survey from the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And whether kids' vegetable and fruit consumption meets
the Dietary Guidelines for Americans wasn't addressed in
the report, said study researcher Samara Joy Nielsen, a
nutritional epidemiologist with the CDC's National Center
for Health Statistics (NCHS).
"We weren't looking at how much was being consumed, we
were looking at whether they were consuming," Nielsen
said.
The dietary guidelines recommend that kids eat at least one
cup each of fruit and vegetables a day and a variety of both,
Nielsen said. The amount needed increases with age and
activity level.
For this report, the researchers used data on children ages 2
to 19 from the 2009-10 National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey, which asked what people ate over 24
hours.
Ninety percent of children aged 2 to 5 years old ate fruit on
any given day, while only six of 10 teens did, according to
the report published July 16 in the NCHS Data Brief .
Younger children also ate more vegetables on a given day
than teens, the survey found. More than 93 percent of
children 2 to 11 ate vegetables on a given day, while veggie
eating declined to 90 percent among kids 12 to 19 years
old.
And French fries were included in that tally.
But, overall, the report seems to be good news, said Dr.
Elsie Taveras, chief of general pediatrics at Massachusetts
General Hospital for Children in Boston, who was not
involved in the study.
"It shows that over 75 percent of children 2 to 19 are
consuming fruits and vegetables on a given day," she said.
Taveras was surprised that vegetable consumption was
higher than fruit intake. "I would take that with a little grain
of salt," she said.
She said she suspected French fries boosted the rate of
vegetable consumption.
Nielsen said about 50 to 60 percent of children ate starchy
vegetables, including French fries, on a given day. However,
she was pleased to see that about three-quarters of young
people ate red and orange vegetables, such as carrots or
bell peppers, on a given day.
The investigators found some differences among ethnic
groups for fruits, but not for vegetables in general. On any
given day, about 82 percent of black children ate fruit
compared to three-quarters of whites.
One-fifth of black youths ate melon, citrus or berries in a
24-hour period, compared to one-third of whites and more
than one-quarter of Hispanics, the findings revealed.
Taveras said looking at intake by income status would have
provided additional valuable information. Lower-income
families often have less access to fresh produce.
Another expert found the report encouraging. "While
differences exist within age groups and ethnicity, the fact
that kids consume produce is a good step," said Connie
Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington
University in St. Louis.
Parents can next encourage variety and greater intake,
Diekman said.
Here are three ways to do that, said Taveras: Make all
snacks fruits or vegetables. Include fruits and vegetables as
part of every meal. And start these practices early to shape
children's taste preferences.
