1 Out Of 7 British Kids Say No To Fruits

According to an astonishing report by the School Food Trust, one in 7 young children in Britain don’t eat fruits.

The latest report showed that 14 percent of youngsters never eat fruits not even popular ones, such as apple and banana. The researchers said that although, the term healthy eating is familiar to children, it is neither well understood nor applied.

The report said, “Perceptions of which foods should be eaten in moderation and an understanding of balancing a diet appear to be weak.”

If kids are getting fruits and veggies at school, it often results in them getting less at home. Despite, recent national initiatives to encourage healthy eating habits urging children and adults to eat “Five a Day” (five portions of fruit or vegetables per day) many of them still fall below.

British children are among the most overweight in the world. There are more than 1 million obese children under age 16 in Britain only. The British Medical Association (BMA) warns that by 2020 as many as one fifth of boys and one third of girls will be obese.

Young Brit children are surrounded by fast food, crisps, sweets and fizzy drinks and are dangerously at risk of heart disease and diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of overweight children has perked up to three times in the past thirty years. Every year, obesity leads to 9,000 premature deaths in England and costs the National Health Service (NHS) £4.2 billion and the economy £16 billion annually.

British MPs are recommending corner shops to get government cash to sell more veggies and fruits. Also, many children and youngsters in between the ages of 8 to 16 years are spending nearly £550 on chips and sweets annually while on their way to school.

Health minister OF Britain, Ivan Lewis said, “We know that families in some communities still use the corner shop on a daily basis for their food and household goods.”

Adding further he said, “It is therefore essential that we take healthy eating options to these stores and reach those families who are at the greatest risk of poor health due to a poor diet.

“It’’s important that people have the opportunity to buy fresh fruit and vegetables where it is convenient for them,” he added.

A previous poll result by Heinz showed that many parents have to offer rewards to their children or lie to them, to get them to eat their vegetables and fruits and in spite of that around 70 percent of children pretend to eat their fruits and veggies, when in reality they have hidden them around the house.

Another study conducted by US researchers and published in the July issue of the journal Preventive Medicine found that parents who give fruits as snacks and serve veggies as dinner can actually shape their young children's (between the ages of 2 and 4) eating patterns for his or her lifetime.