Kids Dislike of healthy foods is nurtured

"We must encourage children to eat healthily from an early age" says London Nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston .



"There is evidence to suggest that tastes are formed early and if you don't develop a taste for greens as a child you'll be unlikely to enjoy them as an adult. Parents are passing on their bad habits and even rewarding their children with bad foods - like increasing their risk of heart disease and diabetes is a 'treat'. This is giving out totally the wrong messages."



Schools have a responsiblity to avoid condoning high GI, sugar, saturated animal fat, salt and simple carbohydrate rich foods and diets.



Scotsman.com News - UK - Jamie fails to put greens on favourites list: "Researcher Lucy Cooke, from Cancer Research UKs Health Behaviour Unit, sent questionnaires to 1300 children in London, asking them to rate their like or dislike of 115 types of food.

When it came to their favourite foods, both boys and girls put chocolate, pizza and ice cream near the top. But strawberries and grapes did make it into the top ten foods chosen by girls. No fruit and vegetables appeared in the boys' top ten, apart from fruit juice.

Foods that would provide a healthier diet - including spinach, leeks, swede, sprouts and turnips - were at the bottom of the list.

Ms Cooke said: 'The results of the questionnaire clearly show that children prefer unhealthy foods. Girls tend to eat fruit and vegetables more than boys, particularly in their teenage years when they become more conscious of how they look.'"