High-Fat Chips And Fries Top Vegetable Intake - of teenagers - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Nov, 1999

Mom always said to eat your vegetables, but she probably wasn't referring to potato chips and french fries, the high-fat snacks that comprise a sizable portion of the daily servings of vegetables for many teenagers. A study at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, shows that nearly one-third of the vegetable servings eaten by youngsters aged 13 to 18 are in the form of potato chips and french fries. The figure climbs to 40% among African-American children in the age group.

The result is that, instead of receiving a healthy dose of vitamins, minerals, and fiber in a package that delivers little fat and relatively few calories, teens are getting a high-fat, high-calorie food with little nutritional value. "French fries and potato chips are no match for a serving of carrots, broccoli, or even a plain baked potato," indicates researcher Catherine Champagne.

Consider that a super-size serving of french fries at a popular fast-food chain contains 540 calories, nearly half of which is in the form of fat. "You can see why we are concerned about where and how our children are getting their servings of vegetables."

The study analyzed data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals. "We noticed that high-fat snack items like potato chips and french fries are linked to vegetables in the USDA's survey."

Among age groups, the analysis showed the percentages to be highest in teens, representing 31.2% of vegetable servings. Children ages seven to 12 totaled 28.9%, while those six and younger were at 27.3%. When looking at the population as a whole, french fries and potato chips comprise almost 17% of vegetable intake.

"The fact that a large quantity of our children's vegetable intake is coming from chips and fries is discouraging," Champagne argues. "These results point to the need for education efforts aimed at increasing consumption of vegetables that are relatively low in calories and high in nutrients."