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By JOANNA DAVIS
Parents are spending more on lollies for their children than fruit, prompting health experts to warn that the young are not getting vital nutrients.
A Health Ministry monitoring report has found the average household spends more on confectionery each week ($6.50) than it does on fresh fruit ($5.90).
At a time of epidemic levels of childhood obesity – with nearly one-third of children aged five to 14 overweight or obese – the report found a 67 per cent growth in takeaway sales since 2000.
Health Ministry nutrition adviser Christine Stewart said about 40 per cent of children did not have a recommended daily vegetable intake (three or more servings) and up to 60 per cent did not eat the recommended two or more servings of fruit.
Stewart said concerns were growing about deficiencies of iron, vitamin D and iodine among children starting school.
The ministry's report also found inadequate calcium intake and zinc levels in some children.
Stewart said children's nutrition was particularly important as they were growing rapidly and often had erratic relationships with food – "sometimes incredibly interested and sometimes particularly disinterested".
St Albans mother Kimberley Brackenridge said she struggled to get vegetables into her three-year-old daughter, Olivia.
"I do all the things you're not supposed to do, like say, `Have two more pieces of carrot and you can have dessert'," she said.
She resorted to hiding peas in mince bolognaise and calling water "tap juice" so her daughter would not request the sugary drinks she saw advertised.
Brackenridge said she spent much more on fruit than lollies each week, about $30 compared with $5.
She said a busy life made it tempting to cut corners when preparing meals.
Mother-of-three Robbie Gerard said she was not fanatical about healthy food for her children, Georgina, five, Oliver, four, and Katie, two, but wanted them to eat well.
She did not give them lollies or sweet biscuits, except at parties, and they never had fizzy drinks.
Christchurch public health nutritionist Bronwen King said children's dietary problems started in infancy.
"It's very hard to get a child to eat fruit or vegetables at six or seven if they haven't been exposed to them earlier. If you've given them bland little jars of (baby food), you're setting them up for a life of processed convenience foods," she said.
King said parents needed to introduce new healthy foods to children up to 15 times before they accepted them.
Other trends over the past 40 years identified in the Health Ministry report were:
Declining use of butter (down from 50g a day to 25g a day).
An eight-fold increase in the amount of poultry eaten.
Declines in the amount of beef and sheep meat eaten.
Increasing availability of vegetables and fruit.
The report identified low levels of breastfeeding, with only 56 per cent of babies fully breastfed at three months.
It also found fast-food chains, restaurants and cafes spent $67 million on advertising last year, compared with $6.2m spent advertising fruit and vegetables.
Health Minister Pete Hodgson described the trends as alarming.
"Improving the nutrition of New Zealand families is one of our most pressing public health challenges," he said.
"This report underlines the urgency surrounding that task, but also shows how difficult it will be to make significant improvements."
The Health Ministry will put out a draft paper on new guidelines for toddlers' nutrition early next year. |
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