A new study in the journal Pediatrics shows apples are the favorite fruit of U.S. Kids.
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“Apples and apple juice alone account for 30 percent of total fruit intake”, said study author Kirsten Herrick, a senior service fellow with the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, via Health Day.
The researchers also found that children and adolescents eat 1.25 cups (10.4 ounces) of fruit each day on average, and about half of that comes in the form of whole fruit. “My daughter Charlie will get peanut butter on her apple, so it’s added protein which is great”, she said.
A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is associated with a healthy weight and decreased risk of diabetes, stroke, cancers and other deadly conditions, the researchers pointed out. Regardless of these impacting benefit, a previous study has shown that only 40% of children in the United States meet the daily recommendations of 1 to 2 cups of fruit per day, as guidelines offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). But it can be a problem if juice is children’s only source of fruit, because then they aren’t being exposed to real fruit, she said. “The rest should be [whole] fruit”. “You are not getting the fiber that you are getting with eating a whole piece of fruit”, Dr. Blanchard said.
The researchers found that whole fruit made up more than half of kids’ fruit intake.
The researchers found that kids between ages 6 to 11 were more likely to eat apples compared to kids between ages 2 to 5, and the latter group was more likely to drink apple juice.
“The study can’t speak to why these differences exist”, Herrick said.
What should parents do?
For Kilarjian, she uses fruit to get her children to eat a well balanced diet.
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“I’m surprised they’re not eating more”, Tallmadge said.
