Fruit Bowl, the children’s fruit snack company, conducted the research and found that 90% of children under the age of ten in the UK are not getting their five-a-day.
According to the research a third of parents think fruit yoghurts count as one of your five-a-day and 20% of parents believe milkshakes are on the list. Fewer than half of parents knew that foods including tinned veg, frozen fruit and sweet potatoes count as one of your five-a-day.
Despite the majority of Brits (86%) agreeing that it is important for their child to eat their five-a-day, four in ten Brits think their child only gets two to three portions on average.
The top excuses for children not eating fruit and vegetables included not liking the taste (54%), the texture (25%) and the smell (21%).
Filomena Komodromou, a nutritional therapist, said: “Fruit and vegetables contain a variety of key nutrients vital for the growth and development of children. For example, vitamin C, found in strawberries, broccoli, peppers and kiwis, boost our immune system. They also contain fibre, which is important for improving gut health."
In a bid to get fruit and vegetables into their child’s diet almost a quarter of parents admitted to hiding them in other dishes such as finely chopped carrots in spaghetti bolognese. As many as 15% of parents tell their children eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day will give them superpowers.
Five unexpected foods that count towards our five-a-day:
- Baked beans
- Guacamole
- Onions
- Hummus
- Spaghetti hoops
Susanne Fraser, marketing manager of Fruit Bowl, added: “Here at Fruit Bowl we are a team of parents and know first-hand how difficult it can be to make sure our children get their five-a-day, every day, and we know it’s a struggle that lots of other parents have.
“By conducting this survey, we aim to highlight this and also show busy parents that there are easy solutions, tips and tricks they can use to give their children five-a-day."