Half of children don’t eat a single vegetable daily: CDC

Eat your veggies!

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on Friday revealed that half of American children under five years old don’t eat a single vegetable daily and one-third don’t eat a single daily fruit — but an alarming 60% consume sugary drinks.

Parents of more than 18,000 children were asked to complete questionnaires about their children’s diet. 

The new survey —  which was completed in 2021 as part of the National Survey on Children’s Health — showed that in 20 states, more than half of children didn’t consume a single vegetable on a daily basis.

By comparison, in a CDC survey from 2015 to 2018, about three-quarters of children aged 2-19 ate fruit on a given day, while a little more than 90% of children ate vegetables on a given day.

The number of children and adolescents who ate fruit daily decreased with age — and also increased with income. Children ate 67% more fruit from 2003 to 2010, but the amount of vegetable consumption did not change, according to a Vital Signs report by the CDC.

In the latest findings collected during 2021, Louisiana took last place on the list for vegetable consumption, with 64% of children under five give not eating their veggies at least once a day. 

The rest of the bottom five included: Oklahoma (57.5%), Alabama (57.3%), New Jersey (57.1%) and Rhode Island (56.2%).

Vermont ranked best in this category, with just 30.4% of children not having a daily vegetable.

When it came to fruits, Louisiana once again took the bottom spot, with 49.9% of children not having a piece of fruit at least once a day.

Louisiana was followed by Mississippi (47.3%), Indiana (43.1%), Kentucky (42.7%) and New Mexico (41.1%).

Meanwhile, almost 60% of children under five consume a sugary drink at least once a week.

Mississippi was the biggest culprit, with 79.3% of children having a sugar-sweetened drink at least one time a week. 

On the other end of the spectrum, only 38.8% of children under five in Maine had at least one sugary drink per week.

“Young children need specific nutrients to support their optimal growth and development. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help provide these nutrients,” the CDC noted. 

“Limiting or reducing foods and beverages higher in added sugars, including sugar-sweetened beverages, is important because added sugars are associated with increased risk of obesity, dental caries, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.”

Shockingly, children who were just one year old were more likely to be consuming daily fruits and vegetables compared to those who were older.

And perhaps not as shocking, the younger kiddos were also less likely to be consuming sugary drinks at least once a week.

When accounting for diversity, the survey showed that black children were most likely to not be getting their daily fruit and vegetable intake while white children were least likely to make this category.

Recommendations for the amount of fruit and vegetables children should be eating are based on age, gender and level of physical activity. 

For children who get less than 30 min per day of moderate physical activity, girls ages 2-3 years should be getting one cup of fruit and one cup of vegetables daily, and girls ages 4-8 need 1-1.5 cups of fruit and 1-1.5 cups of vegetables daily, according to the USDA.

When it comes to boys, those ages 2-3 need one cup of fruit and one cup of vegetables daily, and boys ages 4-8 need 1-1.5 cups of fruit and 1.5 cups of vegetables daily.

“With renewed national focus on nutrition, hunger, and health and the call to improve food and nutrition security, these data provide information for decision-makers and practitioners to ensure that young children have an opportunity for their healthiest start,” the CDC said.

As for how to get kids to eat more veggies, Heather Hamner, senior author of the study and a senior health scientist at the CDC, told CNN that it takes patience.

“We’ve found that it can take up to 10 times for a child to try a new food before they like it,” she said.

“Continuing to try and expose young children to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables is an important piece.”