Why Most Children do not Consume Fruits and Vegetables - Example

Download file to see previous pages The paper "Why Most Children do not Consume Fruits and Vegetables" is a wonderful example of a report on family and consumer science. There are many driving factors for the consumption of fruits and vegetables among young children. There has also been the need to understand factors that affect fruits and vegetable consumption among young children. This is because it has been observed that most young children do not consume enough fruits and vegetables, thus putting their health at risk of infection with diseases such as cancer and heart attack in later stages of life (Blanck, Gillespie, Kimmons, Seymour and Serdula 2008). Therefore, is has been necessary to study the factors that affect the consumption of fruits and vegetables among young children by identifying motivating factors and overcoming barriers. The study of fruits and vegetable consumption among children is important in ensuring many illnesses are avoided in later stages of life (Black, Hawks and Keene, 2006).

The main focus of this paper is to determine factors that affect the consumption of fruits and vegetables among young children and the reasons why some children do not consume enough fruits and vegetables to supplement their nutritional needs. Data is collected using specific methods and a discussion of the findings is provided.

• Research Question according to Health Belief Model

There exist certain health habits that have impact on the consumption of specific types of foods in various segments of the population (Potter and Perry, 2006). For instance, the Health Belief Model explains that there are certain factors that affect a person’s consumption of certain types of food.

Does the number of fruits and vegetables consumed by children affected by the level of health risk that the child is likely to suffer if the fruits and vegetables are not consumed?

• Previous studies on factors affecting vegetable consumption among young Children

Several studies have been done to explain the factors that affect fruits and vegetable consumption among young children. The other factor has been found to be the impact of motivation from their parents (Agudo, 2004). It has been found that children who are motivated to eat fruits and vegetables by their parents are more likely to consume FV than those who are not motivated. It has also been found that cost is a factor that creates a barrier for children in getting fruits and vegetables during their meals (Marriner and Raile, 2005). Those who come from poor families have been observed to be fewer consumers of FV compared with those from high-income families. Thus, it has been necessary to ensure that these factors are controlled.

• Questionnaire for the topic based on the Health Belief Model

During the design of the questionnaire, the Health Belief Model was used as the basis of the design. The following questionnaire was used during the study:

• When children eat less serves vegetables everyday they won’t become sick.
• When children consume more vegetables than fast foods, this will prevent from developing chronic
• If children consume French fries rather than normal potato this will not negatively influence their health
• Vegetables provide children with essential vitamins and minerals for their growing
• Eating a variety of vegetables on a daily basis prevents chronic diseases
• Eating fresh vegetables, salad as a side dish is much healthier
• Vegetables such as green vegetables are important for health
• Engaging children in meal presentation such as cutting vegetables into shapes increases their like for vegetables
• When children do not consume the right amounts of fruits and vegetables, the impacts of chronic health diseases is increased
• It costs too much to obtain fruits and vegetables
• Aim of the Study

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