Study finds only 17% of US children eat enough fruit & veg

As the number of obese children in the U.S. increases, a new study finds guidelines aimed to prevent childhood obesity are not being followed, according to researchers from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

The 5-2-1-0 guidelines recommend that kids eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, spend less that two hours in front of a screen, fit one hour of physical participation into their day and that they consume zero sugar-sweetened drinks.

For the study, researchers observed children’s diet and physical activity for 24 hours. Researchers looked into dietary intake, screen time, body mass index at child care and at home, and used accelerometers to measure physical activity.

Among 400 preschool children only one child followed the prevention guidelines over the the course of a single day at daycare and at home, researchers found. The study found one in four children had a body mass index that labeled them as overweight. Researchers found only 17 percent of children followed the five servings of fruit and vegetables rule.

“The recommendation that we believe is the hardest for families to attain, based on our study and other similar studies, is fruit and vegetable intake,” lead author of the study, Dr. Amrik Singh Khalsa, told International Business Times.

“Several studies including evaluations of national datasets have shown that children and adults do not meet fruit and vegetable recommendations and it is due to diet quality.”

Source: ibtimes.com