Children less likely to eat vegetables daily if parents have low vegetable intake

Although most parents reported cooking more than five days weekly and spending over 30 minutes cooking, more than half reported frequent consumption of takeaway foods, which children also ate. File picture

Children who watch more than an hour of television a day are less likely to eat vegetables and have double the likelihood of eating sweets or having sugary drinks more than once a week, according to a new study.

The research looked at the eating habits in the household of 332 children aged three to five years old and their parents/guardians, all recruited through a randomised sampling of pre-schools in Dublin.

It found pressure to eat from parents was associated with lower fruit intake in children and that a greater variety of fruit available in the home increased the likelihood of fruit consumption in children.

Watching television for more than one hour a day was associated with a decreased probability of children eating vegetables daily and doubled their likelihood of consuming confectionary/sugar-sweetened beverages more than once weekly, while children whose parents had lower vegetable consumption were 59% less likely to eat vegetables daily.

The study, entitled 'Associations Between the Home Environment, Feeding Practices and Children’s Intakes of Fruit, Vegetables and Confectionary/Sugar-Sweetened Beverages', was carried out by researchers from Technical University Dublin.

The analysis of parental habits found that less than a quarter had three or more servings or fruit a week and two-thirds had fewer than three servings of vegetables a week.

Although most parents reported cooking more than five days weekly and spending over 30 minutes cooking, more than half reported frequent consumption of takeaway foods, which children also ate, and one-third used microwavable and quick-cook frozen foods.

"Despite the majority of parents reporting that they set rules on children’s television viewing (79.2%), eating meals and snacks while watching television was a common practice among 52.1% [of parents] and 78.3% of children, respectively. Over half of children watched more than one hour of television daily, higher than that recommended by WHO," it said.

The study found having a greater variety of fruits available increased the likelihood of children’s fruit consumption by 35%. Picture: iStock 

The study found having a greater variety of fruits available increased the likelihood of children’s fruit consumption by 35%, while children whose parents put pressure on them to eat were 33% less likely to consume fruits daily compared to children whose parents exerted less pressure on them to eat.

"Children whose parents allowed snacks to be eaten in front of the television were 71% less likely to consume vegetables daily compared with those whose parents did not allow snacks to be eaten in front of the television," it said.

Consumption of biscuits, chocolates, muffins, sweets and SSBs on a weekly basis was common practice for more than 70% of pre-schoolers in the study and researchers said the results highlight the importance of limiting screen time, especially during meal and snack times.