Being told to eat your greens is something we all hear as children, whether at home, at school, or at a friend's house. But it seems the advice has fallen on deaf ears for American adults, and many are no longer enforcing the saying. Researchers in the U.S. found that most children in the country can go days without eating any green vegetables, and even more shocking their only form of veggies comes from fries.
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A team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill surveyed parents about infant and toddler eating habits over two time periods; from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2009 to 2012. It was found that as well as a lack of greens, which fell to eight per cent in toddlers by the end of the study, more and more children were also not being breastfed, with about 36 per cent drinking breast milk at the end of the research period.
Chips have been discovered to be the main sources of vegetables for many children
"We knew from previous studies that more work was needed to improve feeding habits in this age group," study co-author Gandarvaka Miles said. "We observed many of the same trends in our study: a substantial proportion of American infants are not breastfed, vegetable consumption is lower than desired, and consumption of sweetened beverages and sugary snacks is prevalent."
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There were some positive results though, with a reduction found in the use of infant cereals and fruit juices for babies. Pediatricians recommend delaying fruit juice until after age one. There was also a drop in parents giving their little one's solid foods before six months. Solids can be harder for babies to swallow and be less nutritious than milk or formula. Results have been published in journal Pediatrics, with the study coming hot on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump announcing plans to scrap healthy eating restrictions on school meals.
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