More fuel for the fire

A University of Minnesota study has been released that shows that teenagers are eating fewer servings of fruits and vegetables compared with even a few years ago. As teenagers get older, the number of servings they consume declines. Here are a few sobering excerpts that point out the need for intervention:

The study, which also says that these eating habits only get worse as kids grow older, has researchers worried, for fruit and vegetable intake is important for the prevention of future chronic disease.
During the transition from middle school or junior high to high school, teens decreased their intake of fruits and vegetables by almost one serving per day, Larson and colleagues found, from roughly four servings to three servings for girls and roughly two and a half to fewer than two servings for boys.They also found that from high school to early adulthood, the teens decreased their consumption by almost the same amount.The researchers also compared consumption of fruits and vegetables between one group of middle adolescents in 1999 and another in 2004. They found that mid-adolescent girls in 2004 consumed almost one serving per day less than girls the same age in 1999. Mid-adolescent boys were also eating about a half a serving less of fruits and vegetables in 2004 than in 1999.

The upshot is that researchers conclude that "new and enhanced efforts" to increase fruit and vegetable consumption are merited. Just education is not enough, experts say. Teens already know that fruits and vegetable are good for you.

If this isn't a Clarion call for an expanded fruit and vegetable snack program at schools, nothing is.