What are Australian Children Eating?
The National Nutrition Survey (n–2819) in 1995 revealed that on the day prior to the survey:
- 40 per cent of children surveyed ate no fruit and only 50 per cent met recommended intake*
- 23 per cent of children surveyed ate no vegetables and only 33 per cent met recommended intake*
- 51 per cent of this vegetable intake was potatoes and 75 per cent of potatoes were consumed fried or mashed with added fats
- 35 per cent of children surveyed ate snack foods such as potato chips*
- 54 per cent of children surveyed ate confectionery*
- 38 per cent of children surveyed drank beverages such as soft drink/cordial*
- the intake of dairy foods was inadequate to meet calcium requirements, in particular adolescent girls averaged less than 1 glass milk per day and 37 per cent 16–18 year-old girls had no milk.
*1995 National Nutrition Survey (8–11yo, n–1 032.7)
(These values are an average of male and female data for 8–11 year olds. Values for the 4–7 years age group data are very similar.)