Chewing the fat about our children’s health

Abstract

Popular culture is jammed with TV shows about our health and what we eat, whether it’s ‘The Health Squad’ making people healthy from the inside out or Gillian McKeith telling people ‘You Are What You Eat’. Our study, looking extensively at the eating habits of children aged 5-12 years in Ireland, shows us that the extreme picture painted by the media has some basis in fact. Around one in five children are overweight or obese, and many children’s diets are lacking in important nutrients and fibre; it is time to find out why and what implications this may have on their future health. The National Children’s Food Survey was a comprehensive survey carried out by researchers in UCC and UCD, investigating the eating habits of children in Ireland between the ages of 5 and 12 years. The survey has provided a valuable insight into the diets of children in this ...