American kids poor food choices: Fewer than 15 percent eat recommended fruits and ...( folate and fiber. According to NAHNES ...),Health

Children have increased their calorie intake but not their vitamin and mineral intake. They are loading up on foods relatively low in nutrients, and such poor habits and their health consequences can follow these kids into adulthood, Block says. With the Surgeon General reporting that U.S. obesity rates in children increased nearly three-fold during the last 20 years, children need help in making more healthful meal and snack choices throughout the day, every dayto protect their health today and in the future.

Snack Stats

Snack time presents an excellent opportunity to substitute fruits and vegetables for less healthy options, Block notes. Eighty-three percent of kids reported eating one or more snacks on the day they were surveyed, and those snacks made up approximately 20 percent of their daily calories. The NHANES III analysis showed the most frequently reported foods eaten at snack time for this age group are, in order:

• 1. Soft drinks
• 2. Salty snacks such as potato chips, corn chips and popcorn
• 3. Cookies
• 4. Non-chocolate candy
• 5. Artificially flavored fruit beverages
• 6. Whole milk and chocolate milk
• 7. Two percent/reduced fat milk
• 8. White bread
• 9. Chocolate candy
• 10. Cake
• 11. Ice cream
• 12. Fruit

Making a single healthy substitution in a day can make a big difference, the analysis showed. For example, if a medium banana is substituted at snack time for a one-ounce mix of salty snacks such as potato chips, a child will get 12 percent less fat, 10 percent more fiber and 13 percent more potassium.

Beverage Buzz

Beverages also can have a significant impact on childrens daily eating, Block noted. Soft drink consumption increased 21 per
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Contact: Amy Myrdal
510-639-5550 ext. 14
Porter Novelli
16-May-2002