Most parents worry that their children aren’t eating enough vitamins, nutrients and fibre, but according to a major new study, Irish kids are doing quite well when it comes to diet.
New results from the Irish National Pre-School Nutrition Survey report encouragingly on current intakes of fruit and vegetables in the diets of Irish pre-school children.
All children involved in the study consumed fruit and vegetables at least once during the four days they were surveyed, averaging 4.5 portions per day and typically making up 20 per cent of the weight of the pre-schooler’s total diet.
Fruit and vegetables were important sources of fibre, beta-carotene (vitamin A) and vitamin C for this age group.
Lead author Dr Laura O’Connor at Manchester Metropolitan University and University College Cork, told HerFamily.ie that the findings are a step in the right direction:
“It is very good news. We know that habits formed when we are young, stick with us for the rest of our lives. As such it is hugely important that we are getting fruit and veg intake right in the early years.
There are some improvements that could be made however; vegetable intakes were low overall and children displayed an increasing dependence on fruit juice with age.
In about 10 percent of the population there were very low intakes of both fruit and vegetables, identifying the existence of an ‘at risk’ group.
