Teenage Girls Diet Could be Improved

A Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Department of Health report has highlighted that teenagers, particularly girls, are eating too many sugary fizzy drinks, crisps, chocolate and other junk food.
Only 7 per cent of girls aged between 11 and 18 eat the recommended 5-a-day portions of fruit and vegetables, with more than two in five girls in this age group not consuming enough magnesium, iron and other key nutrients.
The FSA stated that this was a “concern” and is something they are trying to rectify by promoting health messages to teenagers on Facebook.
The Radio 2 DJ, The study, compared the diet of Britain in 2008/9 with that of ten years ago and discovered that minimal progress has been made in improving the nation’s health, apart from in toddler age bracket. Pre-school children are eating less sugar, due to a cutting down on soft drinks.
Nonetheless, the consumption of saturated fat, sugar and fibre has practically not improved at all with consumers still missing Government targets widely.
The Department of Health has spent £3.3 million on the 5-a-day campaign since 2006, and £75 million is being allocated over a three year period to promote Change4Life, a healthy eating and exercise campaign aimed at school children.
Only 7 per cent of girls achieve the five-a-day target, 22 per cent of boys, a third of women and 37 per cent of men.
This study asked 1,000 consumers to maintain a detailed diary of precisely what they ate over a four-day period. Their blood samples were taken as well as blood pressure tests. Doctors weighed and measured all participants.
This study is going to be updated annually to monitor whether the Government is succeeding or failing in its attempt to combat obesity and reduce the nation’s intake of saturated fat and added sugars.
It is crucial that teenage girls eat a healthy diet per se, also because they need to eat properly in preparation for motherhood.