Children's Diets Seriously Short On Fruit And Veg

A MORI poll commissioned by The Cancer Research Campaign and the supermarket chain, Iceland, looked at the eating habits of 11-16 year olds.

The poll discovered that between five and six per cent of the children questioned had either eaten no fruit or no vegetables in the previous seven days ^*. It also found that, on average, children are eating less than 13 portions of fruit and veg a week. ^**

Government guidelines and The Cancer Research Campaign recommend eating at least 35 portions of fruit and vegetables a week, which means children are generally consuming just over one-third of the minimum recommended amount.

Dr Lesley Walker, The Cancer Research Campaign's Director of Cancer Information, says:

"We all know that it can be difficult to encourage children and teenagers to eat their greens. It is very concerning, however, that so many children are eating so few fruit and vegetables. The Government has recently introduced a scheme to provide free fruit to 80,000 primary school children in over 500 schools. We welcome this, as it should help to improve children's diets over the coming years. Meanwhile, we mustn't forget older children and teenagers, and the need to encourage them to eat well. "There is growing evidence to suggest a good diet can reduce the risk of cancer by up to a third. While cancer is a disease which generally affects older people, it is so important to lay the foundations of a healthy lifestyle early on. We need to do all we can to encourage children to be used to eating a balanced diet before they reach adulthood."

Lucy Cooke, from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London, says:

"These findings lend further weight to a growing body of research indicating that fruit and vegetable consumption in the UK, especially among low income groups, falls well below the 5 portions a day recommended by health-promotion organisations world-wide. "In conjunction with The Cancer Research Campaign, the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Health Behaviour Unit is carrying out research aimed at identifying the reasons why children's intake is so low, and developing scientifically-based strategies to increase intake. Since eating behaviours are initiated in childhood and may persist into adulthood, early intervention is likely to reap the maximum health benefit."

Sara Jamison, Iceland's Marketing Director, says:

"Every parent knows that encouraging children to eat fruit and vegetables can be a battle. So at Iceland, we are playing our part by providing practical nutritional advice and products. We're planning a range of initiatives to encourage kids to eat more vegetables on the back of this research, and have a wide range of ready prepared frozen vegetables which are quick and easy to cook."

The study also revealed:

• Carrots and sweetcorn are the most popular vegetables among children with over half naming one of these as the vegetable they like most ^***
• Peas and broccoli are the only other vegetables to be mentioned as a favourite by more than one in 20 children
• Sprouts are by far children's least favourite vegetable, with two in five (39%) saying they hate them more than any other listed
• Strawberries come top of the list as children's favourite fruit, mentioned by one in three - almost twice as many as the second placed fruit, apples (18%) ^****
• Bananas and kiwi fruit are also quite popular, with both being chosen by one in ten children as their favourite fruit
• Tomatoes and avocados top the list of children's most hated fruit, mentioned by 23% and 22% respectively

Iceland staff and customers recently chose The Cancer Research Campaign as their Charity of the Year, and in various partnerships since 1995 the company has raised over £750,000 for The Campaign.

* Five per cent had not eaten any vegetables and six per cent had not eaten any fruit. (MORI Schools Omnibus Study 11-16 Year Olds, 2001). The Cancer Research Campaign estimates that this equates to around 200,000 children in England and Wales.

** Average of 6.53 portions of fresh or frozen vegetables per week and 6.31 portions of fresh or frozen fruit per week. Results exclude tinned food.

*** From a list of vegetables provided

**** From a list of fruit provided.

Technical details

• 2,635 interviews conducted by self-completion questionnaire among pupils aged 11-16 in 111 schools in England and Wales, as part of MORI's annual Schools Omnibus survey
• Sample included county, voluntary aided/controlled and foundation schools, but excluded special schools and Sixth Form Colleges.
• Fieldwork conducted between 15 January - 2 March 2001
• Data edited and weighted according to gender and age profiles among 11-16 year olds in England & Wales
• Base: All (2,635)
• Responses which do not add up to 100% are due to computer rounding
• '*' denotes a finding of less than 0.5% but greater than zero

Topline results

Q1 Looking at the list of vegetables below, which one do you like most?

Q2 Looking at the list of vegetables below, which one do you hate most?

Q3 Now, which one of the fruits in the list below do you like most?

Q4 Now, which one of the fruits in the list below do you hate most?

The next question is about any types of fruit and vegetables which are bought fresh or frozen, but not tinned

Q5a Thinking about all the meals you have had in the last seven days, how many portions of vegetables have you eaten in this time?

Q5b And how many portions of fruit have you eaten in the last seven days?