British teenagers are falling well short of targets for healthy eating – shunning fruit and vegetables, according to shock figures published yesterday.
On average, teenagers are barely eating three portions of fruit and vegetables a day. The recommended amount for healthy living in the UK is five a day – but some experts say it should be more than that.
Adults over the age of 19 eat on average four portions a day, the survey found.
It showed that just 11 per cent of boys – and eight per cent of girls – in the 11 to 18 age group consume "five a day".
Campaigners expressed dismay at the figures.
Tracey Parker, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "Fruit and vegetables help young minds and bodies develop and should be an integral part of any teenager’s diet.
“It’s not just young people though – all age groups are failing to clear the five-a-day bar. The nation is consuming too much saturated fat and too many people have high cholesterol – a major risk factor for heart and circulatory disease.
“We’ve all got a part to play to ensure next year’s results are much more promising. It’s important that shoppers are able to see what’s in the food they’re buying and the industry should introduce traffic light colours on all food labels to lend a hand to busy parents.”
The figures from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey come from a survey of more than 3,000 people who completed daily diaries.
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