Teenagers skip fruits and vegetables when they are in middle school and then again in late adolescence, according to a new study by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
A research team led by Nicole Larson surveyed more than 2000 children in 1999 and then again in 2005. The team found that children in early adolescence tended to skip fruits and vegetables. There was also a second decrease in consumption of those foods in late adolescence.
The authors conclude that we need to develop "more effective interventions for increasing fruits and vegetable consumption during these critical developmental periods."
This study appeared in the February 2007 issue of the
American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Labels: adolescence, healthy eating, nutrition