Want your kids to choose healthy foods over processed snacks? It may be helpful to know what fruits kids reach for most.
A recent survey of US kids and teens found that apples were the most common fruit of choice, especially for kids ages 6 to 11.
"Fruits and vegetables are important sources of nutrients that promote health and protect against chronic disease," wrote lead study author Kirsten A. Herrick, PhD, of the Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys at the National Center for Health Statistics, and colleagues. "These findings provide insight into what fruits US youth are consuming and sociodemographic factors that may influence consumption."
Dr. Herrick and team used data from a survey of 3,129 US kids and teens ages 2 to 19 to look at fruit intake.
These researchers found that the majority of fruit intake came from whole fruits and 100 percent fruit juice. On average, kids got slightly more than half of their daily fruit intake from whole fruits, while 34 percent came from fruit juice.
Apples were the most popular whole fruit for all age groups.
Fruit intake habits changed significantly between kids ages 2 to 5 and kids ages 6 to 11, with the older kids tending to eat more whole apples and drink less apple juice than younger ones.
Fruit intake habits also varied by ethnicity, with black children eating fewer whole fruits than their white or Hispanic peers.
This study was published Sept. 21 in the journal Pediatrics.
The US federal government funded this research. No conflicts of interest were disclosed.
