NUTRITION EDUCATION OF

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES OF PRESCHOOLERS

F1
BY: ALEXIS HAMMER

ofsecondarychildrendonotmeettheirdaily

80%
recommendedintakesforfruitsandvegetables.
Recommendeddailyneedsrangefrom12cups
offruitad13cupsofvegetables.
Thelowlevelofintakescanbeduetothestyle
offeeding,whetheritbeinthehomeorinthe
school.
Feedingpracticesnotonlyhaveaneffectonthechild'sintakebu
alsoonthechild'sBodyMassIndex.

60
millionUSchildrenspendasignificantamountof
theirdayinschoolsorchildcarefacilitiessowhatthey
consumewhileatthesefacilitieshasamajorimpact
ontheircurrenthealthaswellaslifelongfood
choices.
Servingfruitsorvegetablesasasnackcouldhelpapreschool
childmeetrecommendedintakes.

Whatcanyoudo?
increaseinfruitconsumedeachdayfrom
20032014.Byprovidingavarietyoffruitsand
67% vegetables,consumptionwillbeincreased,
increasingthispercentage.
Expertssuggestthatamajorityoffruitandvegetables
comefromwholefruitsandvegetablesratherthan
fruit/vegetablejuice.

94% ofchildrenchoosepiecesoffruitsandvegetables
whentheywereinvariation.Byconsuminga
varietyoffruitsandvegetables,childrenare
developingtheirfoodandtastepreferences.
Fruitsandvegetablesareimportantinthereductionofdietary
energydensitytoreduceoverconsumptionofenergy(junk
food).Sobyservingfruitsandvegetablesatsnacktime,child
hoodobesitycanbeprevented.
Childrenlearnbyexample,soasparentsthebestwaytoteach
kidstoeathealthy,istoeathealthywiththem.
Overcontrolandlackofcontrolofachild'sfoodintakecan
contributetoachild'sweightgain.Keepingtrackofwhat
childreneatisthebestwaytomakesuretheymaintaina
healthyweight.
Thebestwaytomonitorachild'sfoodconsumptionistoeat
alongsideofthem.
Sources:
CDC."ChildrenEatingMoreFruit,butFruitandVegetableIntakeStillTooLow."CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention.
CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,5Aug.2014.Web.28Mar.2016.
Hofman,Albert,andPaulineW.Jansen."FeedingPracticesandChildWeight:IstheAssociationBidirectionalinPreschool
Children?"AmericanJournalofClinicalNutrition100.5(2014):1329336.CINAHL[EBSCO].Web.28Mar.2016.
Hofman,Albert,andPaulineW.Jansen."FeedingPracticesandChildWeight:IstheAssociationBidirectionalinPreschool
Children?"AmericanJournalofClinicalNutrition100.5(2014):1329336.CINAHL[EBSCO].Web.28Mar.2016.
Roe,LeannS.,andJenniferS.Meengs."ServingaVarietyofVegetablesandFruitasaSnackIncreasedIntakeinPreschool
Children."AcademicOneFile[Gale].AmericanSocietyforClinicalNutrition,Inc,2013.Web.28Mar.2016.