The Norwegian University of Bergen recently did a study among 4,700 youngsters. It shows that fewer than half of 11, 13, and 15-year-olds eat some type of fruit or vegetable every day. Only a third of the boys indicated that they eat fruit and vegetables daily. At 40%, that percentage was slightly higher among girls.
Iselin Bogstrand Sagen of the Norwegian Food center says: "It's alarming that so many young people don't eat even a single portion of fruit or vegetables. The older they get, the less of these products they consume. So, it's essential to establish their eating habits early. They can then stick to them better."
The Norwegian national broadcaster, NRK, asked youngsters how much fruit and vegetables they ate. Many of them pointed to dinner as their main source of vegetables. Only a few eat fruit too. None of those the NRK questioned, eat five portions of these products per day. Norwegian health institutes recommend that amount.
Focusing on school children
Since 2007, all primary school children in Norway received free fruit at school. But this scheme was stopped in 2014. Some municipalities still offer this service, but they are in the minority. More than 300 councils, of the 356 in total, don't provide school fruit anymore.
"That's a pity. We see that children from lower-income households eat fewer fruit and vegetables than their counterparts. School can be a tremendous help in closing that gap. People in those 300 communities could certainly benefit," Sagen concludes.
Source: nrk.no
