Australia finds teens aren't eating fruits and veggies

William Atkins
Friday, 03 October 2008 20:57

Science - Health

An Australian government/food industry survey has found that children in Australia eat a lot more fruits and vegetables than teenagers eat. However, the percentages aren't that good in either group.


The Australian Department of Health and Ageing and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, along with the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC), funded the 2007 Australian National Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey.

The survey identified the eating habits of nearly 4,487 children and teenagers—half boys and half girls.

They were divided into the following age groups: 2–3 years, 4–8 years, 9–13 years, and 14–16 years.

Its researchers found that 61% of children between the ages of four and eight years eat the required servings of fruit (excluding juice) each day (one to three servings).

In addition, 22% of these children were eating enough veggies each day—that is, two to four servings each day.

However, the survey discovered that only 1% of teenagers between the ages of 14 and 16 years ate the required number of fruit servings daily.

Almost as bad, only 5% of these teenagers ate enough servings of vegetables each day.

What were the results of children with respect to weight? Please read page two.