Kids and Teens Tend To Like Veggies And Fruits Because Of Healthy Parental Attitude: Study

Kids refuse to eat vegies most of the times but a new study has found ways to convince kids and teens to consume vegies more often. According to the researchers, there are simple and easy ways to make the kids like vegetables.

Often the family meals are considered the best time when the whole family get together and follow a healthy diet plan. But other than family meals, kids can be attracted to vegies.

Family meals become rare in certain circumstances but in the absence of family meals kids consume more vegies and fruits especially when these are readily available at home.  The only inspiration for kids in this situation is their parents who enjoy eating these, too.

These parenting practices influence kids' habits greatly and bring positive change in their food choices. 2,500 teens behavior was surveyed in Minneapolis and the researchers found that healthy family meals combined with healthful parenting practices have great impact on teens increasing interest in eating vegies and fruits, reports Fox News.

Lead study author Allison Watts of the University Of Minnesota School Of Public Health in Minneapolis says that the positive attitude of parents at home towards healthy eating brings greater benefits. This is sort of modeling a certain behavior that they want to establish in their kids.

By keeping a good supply of veggies and fruits available at home, parents can encourage the kids to step ahead and slice or cut a few from the assortment on the counter and enjoy a serving or two.

Minimum five servings of veggies and fruits are recommended as healthy but the kids consume only 3.7 servings of fruits and vegetables. This intake increased to 4.2 daily servings after keeping the family meals more frequent.

Another important fact under observation of researchers was that homes where fruits and vegetables were cleaned, cut and saved at an easy to reach spot teens and kids consume them more, writes Sun News.

The researchers wrote in the "Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics" that frequent family meals and healthy parenting practices had greater positive effects on kids and teens consumption of vegies and fruits, rather than communication and discussion.

Though the study is only observational and not a proving theory but in the view of Nancy Zucker, director of the center for eating disorders at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, it sheds light on the fact that parents can go creative in helping the kids to adopt healthy habits.

Let the kids join in cleaning and cutting the fruits and vegetables, saving them in the fridge or letting them on display on the counter and you will observe that they develop sort of liking for these.

Healthy habits without stress or force can lead to their success in families where kids observe parents' behavior and lifestyle from close.