Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T06:45:13.713Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Fruit and vegetable intakes in a sample of pre-school children participating in the ‘Five for All’ project in Bradford

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

JE Cockroft ,
M Durkin ,
C Masding  and
JE Cade
JE Cockroft*
Affiliation:
Nutritional Epidemiology Group, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The University of Leeds, 30/32 Hyde Terrace, Leeds, LS2 9LN, UK
M Durkin
Affiliation:
Airedale Primary Care Trust, Community Health Team, Millennium Park, Station Road, Steeton, Keighley, BD20 6RB, UK
C Masding
Affiliation:
Bradford South & West Primary Care Trust, 10/11 Neville House, Neville Road, Bradford, BD4 8TU, UK
JE Cade
Affiliation:
Nutritional Epidemiology Group, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The University of Leeds, 30/32 Hyde Terrace, Leeds, LS2 9LN, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Background

Longitudinal research has shown that eating fruit and vegetables during childhood has a positive impact on long-term health outcome from heart disease and asthma. However, recommendations for fruit and vegetable intakes in pre-school children are not as explicit as those for adults and few data exist on actual intakes of fruit and vegetables in this particular age group.

Aims

To describe fruit and vegetable intakes in the daily diets of a sample of pre-school children in Bradford, West Yorkshire, and to compare the findings with existing national UK data.

Subjects

Pre-school children aged 3 and 4 years (n = 207). All subjects attended nurseries in the Airedale and Bradford South and West regions at the time of the study.

Design

Dietary data were collected using the pre-validated CADET (Child and Diet Evaluation Tool) diary. All children were also seen individually in order to assess their awareness and preference for a range of fruit and vegetables.

Results

Intakes of fruit and vegetables in this sample of pre-school children were below recommended levels. Only 16% of children in this sample were successfully eating fruit and vegetables on five occasions a day and conversely 14% ate no fruit and vegetables at all. Vegetable intakes were far lower than fruit intakes with 39% of the sample consuming no vegetables. There were statistically significant differences in median fruit and vegetable intakes between children with different demographic and lifestyle variables, such as which nursery they attended and what the highest educational qualification in the household was. Children's awareness of and preferences for different fruit and vegetables significantly affected their median intakes of fruit and vegetables.

Conclusion

Fruit and vegetable intakes in this sample of pre-school children were far lower than the recommended levels of 5 portions a day. A greater diversity of intakes should be encouraged and these data suggest that this may be attained by increasing children's awareness by exposing them to a wider range of fruit and vegetables.

Keywords

Fruit and vegetablesPre-school childrenFive for All
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 8 , Issue 7 , October 2005 , pp. 861 - 869
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2005

References

1World Health Organization (WHO). Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life. The World Health Report 2002. Geneva: WHO, 2002.Google Scholar
2World Health Organization (WHO). Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. Geneva: WHO, 2004.Google Scholar
3Block, G, Patterson, B, Subar, A. Fruit, vegetables and cancer prevention: a review of the epidemiological evidence. Nutrition & Cancer 1992; 18: 1–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4Ness, AR, Powles, JW. Fruit and vegetables, and cardiovascular disease: a review. International Journal of Epidemiology 1997; 26: 1–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF)/American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR). Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective. Washington, DC: WCRF/AICR, 1997.Google Scholar
6World Health Organization (WHO). Fruit and Vegetable Promotion Initiative. Report of a WHO Fruit and Vegetable Initiative Expert Meeting, Geneva, Switzerland, 25–27 August 2003. Geneva: WHO, 2003.Google Scholar
7World Health Organization (WHO). Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. WHO Technical Report Series No. 797. Geneva: WHO, 1990.Google Scholar
8Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy. Nutritional Aspects of Cardiovascular Disease. Report on Health and Social Subjects No. 46. London: HMSO, 1994.Google Scholar
9Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy. Nutritional Aspects of the Development of Cancer. Report on Health and Social Subjects No. 48. London: HMSO, 1998.Google Scholar
10Cox, DN, Anderson, AS, Reynolds, J, McKellar, S, Mela, DJ, Lean, MEJ. Measuring fruit and vegetable intake: is five-a-day enough?. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1997; 51: 177–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11Wang, Y, Bentley, ME, Zhai, F, Popkin, BM. Tracking of dietary intake patterns of Chinese from childhood to adolescence over a six-year follow-up period. Journal of Nutrition 2002; 132: 430–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12Bertheke Post, G, de Vente, W, Kemper, HC, Twisk, JW. Longitudinal trends in and tracking of energy and nutrient intake over 20 years in a Dutch cohort of men and women between 13 and 33 years of age: the Amsterdam growth and health longitudinal study. British Journal of Nutrition 2001; 85: 375–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13Resnicow, K, Smith, M, Baranowski, T, Baranowski, J, Vaughan, R, Davis, M. 2-year tracking of children's fruit and vegetable intake. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1998; 98: 785–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14Robson, PJ, Gallagher, AM, Livingstone, MB, Cran, GW, Strain, JJ, Savage, JM. Tracking of nutrient intakes in adolescence: the experiences of the Young Hearts Project, Northern Ireland. British Journal of Nutrition 2000; 84: 541–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15Welten, DC, Kemper, HC, Post, GB, Van Staveren, WATwisk, JW. Longitudinal development and tracking of calcium and dairy intake from teenager to adult. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1997; 51: 612–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16Nicklas, TA. Dietary studies of children: the Bogalusa Heart Study experience. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1995; 95: 1127–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17Forastiere, F, Pistelli, R, Sestini, P, Fortes, C, Renzoni, E, Rusconi, F, et al. Consumption of fresh fruit rich in vitamin C and wheezing symptoms in children. SIDRIA Collaborative Group, Italy (Italian Studies on Respiratory Disorders in Children and the Environment). Thorax 2000; 55: 283–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18Frear, L, Greenwood, DC, Cade, JE. The development of a dietary assessment tool for school children aged 3 to 7 years. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 2003; 62: 86A.Google Scholar
19Gregory, JR, Lowe, S, Bates, CJ, Prentice, A, Jackson, LV, Smithers, G, et al. National Diet and Nutrition Survey: Young People aged 4 to 18 years. London: The Stationery Office 2000.Google Scholar
20Cooke, LJ, Wardle, J, Gibson, EL, Sapochnik, M, Sheiham, A, Lawson, M. Demographic, familial and trait predictors of fruit and vegetable consumption by pre-school children. Public Health Nutrition 2004; 7: 295–302.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21Gregory, JR, Collins, DL, Davies, PSW, Hughes, JM, Clarke, PC. National Diet and Nutrition Survey: Children aged 1 to 4 years. London: HMSO 1995.Google Scholar
22Emmett, P, Rogers, I, Symes, C. Food and nutrient intakes of a population sample of 3-year-old children in the South West of England in 1996. Public Health Nutrition 2002; 5: 55–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23Byers, T, Trieber, F, Gunter, E, Coates, R, Sowell, A, Leonard, S, et al. The accuracy of parental reports of their children's intake of fruits and vegetables: validation of a food frequency questionnaire with serum levels of carotenoids and vitamins C, A and E. Epidemiology 1993; 4: 350–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24Pollard, J, Greenwood, D, Kirk, S, Cade, J. Lifestyle factors affecting fruit and vegetable consumption in the UK Women's Cohort Study. Appetite 2001; 37: 71–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25Thompson, RL, Margetts, BM, Speller, VM, McVey, D. The health education authority's health and lifestyle survey 1993: who are the low fruit and vegetable consumers?. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 1999; 53: 294–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
26Shohaimi, S, Welch, A, Bingham, S, Luben, R, Day, N, Wareham, N. Residential area deprivation predicts fruit and vegetable consumption independently of individual educational level and occupational social class: a cross sectional population study in the Norfolk cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC–Norfolk). Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2004; 58: 686–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27Pollard, J, Greenwood, D, Cade, J. Lifestyle factors affecting fruit and vegetable consumption in the UK Women's Cohort Study. Appetite 2001; 37: 71–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed