Check it out: new data shows that fruit now tops cookies as the most common snack for children under 6.The article also states that kids today:
• Are less likely to consume carbonated soft drinks, ice cream, candy, cake and fruit juice as snacks than kids the same age did 20 years ago.What good news for the health of the next generation! If they start out eating healthier foods like fruits and vegetables those tastes will continue into adulthood, leading to less obesity and less diet-related disease.
• Are more likely to have fruit rolls and gummy pieces, yogurt, crackers, granola bars and bottled water.
And to think, it all started on Sesame Street with a certain furry blue monster changing his ways. Thanks, Cookie!
I don't know; I still think it's sad the Cookie Monster had to give up his cookies. It's like when they took away Mr. Potato Head's pipe.
ReplyDeleteI hope he doesn't have to change his name. "Fruit Monster" just doesn't seem as fun. But this is certainly great news!
ReplyDeleteI think that's great news! Especially because it means more parents are being health-conscious when it comes to their kids, and that's what will really lead to more health-conscious adults.
ReplyDeleteawesome news! Though now I feel like a bad late-80s-early 90s child...
ReplyDeleteFruity Monster? Foodie Monster? (Gobbling down bottles of organic balsamic vinegar?) No, I think he'll always be the Cookie Monster.
ReplyDeleteBesides, he hasn't completely given up cookies. Did you see him on the Colbert Report Thursday night? Cookie said something like how the 70's and 80's were crazy times and he was the "Robert Downey Jr. of cookies". Now he's learned that cookies are "sometimes food". Then he ate Colbert's Peabody Award. LOL
It makes me a little sad though, because so many of the healthy things that got rattled off aren't made in a healthy way. Have you looked at yogurt that is marketed at kids? It's better than a cookie, but not by as much as it could be.
ReplyDeleteI was really concerned until I went and looked at the original article: Fruit juice fell from the #4 snack choice position to the #5 position; hopefully they are drinking 100% fruit juices, organic, in moderation.
ReplyDeleteIt is awesome news that pop has fallen off the list... now if *bottled* water would follow, our planet would be much healthier. (The drink of "choice" for all of us should be filtered tap water, drunk from a glass or out of a reusable canteen.)
I personally don't think that fruit gummi snacks/fruit roll-ups are a god addition to the snack list. They are heavily processed and contain HFCS; unless they are homemade fruit leathers with no added sugars or preservatives, they are candy.
Chips/crisps gained ground, too...
I have to admit we've come a long way- husband used to have Fanta Orange and Tasty Cakes for breakfast every day.
ReplyDeletehttp://southern-mama.blogspot.com
As much as I hate to be a cynic, I agree with what some others have said. Some of those foods on the new list aren't really much better at all - the gummy stuff, yogurt, and granola bars are all very sugary. Even some crackers contain high fructose corn syrup. The only difference is that these are disguised, and marketed, as healthy food. But at least more people are trying to feed their kids better, which is a step in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteI'm sad about cookie monster too. I mean, clearly he is not human and doesn't have the same nutritional needs we do :)
Jennifershmoo,
ReplyDeleteI hope you get this as I do not know where to post. This is my first blog post. I am a relatively new vegan and a happily married mom of 3. As my relationship with food is changing I am struggling with what to do with the kids and my omni husband. It amazes me how much tension food can stir up. Does any part of your blog offer insight or can you direct me to a resource? Thanks in advance. Feel free to email me if you would rather.
This is the start of a new world. The kids today are our future tomorrow and they will be more healthy and maybe more at peace. I look forward to our future now that we have planted these seeds into our children.
ReplyDeletewww.easyvegetarian.blogspot.com
The trouble is not only kids' diets today; it's their relatively sedentary lifestyle, compared to kids of 20 to 30 years ago who were far more physically active.
ReplyDeleteAlso, some of those yogurt and granola bars are still very high in sugar, and not that much better than a candy bar.