As a parent, it can be really hard to get your child to eat enough fruit and vegetables – you are not alone! Many children are not eating enough fruit or vegetables to maintain a healthy lifestyle and this is evident in the government’s report regarding Britain’s childhood obesity levels.
According to Public Health England, nearly a third of children aged two to fifteen are overweight or obese and, out of these children, the majority of them are carrying this weight into adulthood. So, the burning question surrounding this matter is why so many children today are overweight, unhealthy and reluctant to eat their greens.
According to the BBC, children are “bombarded by junk food” adverts on family TV programmes, with numbers reaching 12 television adverts per hour during primetime slots. This number includes adverts for takeaway pizza, energy drinks and breakfast cereals with a disproportionately high quantity of sugar.
It has been suggested that the result of this is a generation of children who are becoming more geared towards unhealthy, enticing sugary foods and who are, as a consequence, less likely to make positive healthy eating choices.
As a parent, there are a number of different resources available to tackle this problem and encourage your child to eat a healthier, more balanced diet. Change4Life, for example, is an NHS service which aims to help both you and your child to be healthier and happier day to day. The website offers thousands of different recipes, activities, fun food facts and guidance that can be used to encourage your child to eat healthy in a more fun, interactive and exciting way.
To find out more about this subject, visit NHS Change4Life:
https://www.nhs.uk/change4life