British children are falling woefully short of the government’s 5 A DAY targets on fruit and vegetables, according to new research conducted upon behalf of Green Giant.
The survey by OnePoll found that only one in five children is meeting the government’s target, with parents often unaware of which foods count under the 5 A DAY guidelines.
The nationwide representative survey of 1,103 parents with children aged 0-14 found that many parents incorrectly believe that some treat foods, which contain no fruit or vegetables - such as fruit-flavoured sweets, spaghetti hoops and orange squash - can contribute towards their children’s 5 A DAY tally.
And around five per cent of children are eating no fruit and veg at all and three out of five are eating just three portions a day or less, found the survey.
The survey also found that as many as one in 10 parents thinks cola, chips and jaffa cakes can contribute.
Around one in 20 parents failed to identify common fruits such as oranges and bananas as counting.
More than one out of 10 parents believes teaching children about healthy eating is not their responsibility and is best performed by grandparents, teachers, GPs and even celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver.
The biggest barriers to getting children to eat more fruit and vegetables are that youngsters don’t like them, there is too much wastage and parents feel they do not have the time and cooking skills to prepare healthy meals from scratch, the survey found.
But packed lunches fare a little better with seven out of 10 containing fruit.
General Mills registered dietician Vanessa McConkey said: “It is both disappointing and concerning to see that the 5 A DAY message isn’t getting through clearly enough to parents.
“Good eating habits start at home and British parents need to get their children into the habit of eating more vegetables and fruit. There are many easy ways for parents to get to 5 A DAY without loads of cooking and preparation.”
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