Many Teen Girls in UK Do Not eat Enough Fruit and Veggies

More than 90 percent of teenage girls in UK fail to get enough fruit and vegetables every day, raising concerns that they are not getting sufficient nutrition during their growing years. The results were part of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey conducted by the Department of Health. The survey also found that over 44 percent of the girls did not get the recommended levels of iron in their diet while boys were only slightly better with just 13 percent managing to eat recommended levels of fruits and vegetables amounting to 3.1 portions every day.

More than 2,000 adults and children took part in the poll with the average portions of vegetables and fruits rising to 4.2 per day among adults between 19 to 65 years of age and 4.4 portions a day among those over 65 years.

Expressing concern that the lack of proper diet among teenagers could affect their long term health, Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies said, “It is really important that teenagers eat a balanced diet - including eating five portions of fruit and veg a day. Eating well and being active can help prevent serious illnesses such as cancer and heart disease later in life.”

Source-Medindia