Many young children not eating a daily fruit or vegetable, study finds

Almost half of U.S. children aged 1 to 5 years did not eat a daily vegetable and around one-third did not eat a daily fruit in 2021, according to a study published Thursday in MMWR.

Researchers examined data from the 2021 National Survey of Children’s Health on the eating habits of 18,386 children aged 1 to 5 years — specifically, how they consumed fruits, vegetables and sugary drinks.

The survey asked whether a randomly selected child from each household had eaten a fruit, a vegetable and drank a sugar-sweetened beverage in the last week.

Nationwide, 32% of children did not eat a daily fruit, 49% did not eat a daily vegetable, and 57% drank a sugar-sweetened beverage at least once during the last week, according to the study.

The estimates varied by state. In each category, Vermont had the lowest reported rate of children not eating a daily fruit (16.3%) or vegetable (30.4%) and Louisiana had the highest rate (49.9% and 64.3%, respectively).

Children in Maine were the least likely to have consumed a sugar-sweetened beverage in the last week (38.3%) and children in Mississippi were the most likely (79.3%).

Additionally, “The percentage of children who did not eat a daily fruit or vegetable was higher among those who were 2-5 years, Black or lived in households with limited food sufficiency,” the researchers wrote. “Similar patterns were seen for consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.”

They also noted that, “Understanding how access, affordability and taste preferences influence diet for younger children could help tailor programmatic, communication, and education efforts.”

“Emphasizing the importance of healthy dietary practices in existing programs and policies that impact young children could improve their nutrition and support optimal growth and health,” they wrote. “With renewed national focus on nutrition, hunger, and health and the call to improve food and nutrition security, these data provide information for decision-makers and practitioners to ensure that young children have an opportunity for their healthiest start. Collectively, programs and policies aimed at supporting nutrition for young children could lead to improvements in dietary quality and support optimal growth and health.”