Finnish children do not eat enough fruit and vegetables, according to a new report. The information released this week by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), found great discrepancies between the diets of well-off and poorer children from Finland.
Of the wealthy states looked at in the study, only Hungary was found to have greater inequality among children than in Finland. This is true despite the fact that that lunch is provided free to all pupils at schools in Finland.
“Admittedly, there is a contradiction”, said Professor in Health Education Lasse Kannas from the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Jyvaskyla. “However, school meals are served only on weekdays.”
According to the report, only 14 percent of 15-year-old boys in Finland eat fruit and vegetables every day. This is well below the levels of most other prosperous countries and the recommended daily intake of at least 500 grams.
“One reason for the low intake of fruit and vegetables is clearly the fact that they are rather expensive”, said Kannas in a report by Helsingin Sanomat. “Reducing the price of all healthy foodstuffs would be an effective way to abolish inequality,” he added.
Photo: OUTI PYHARANTA HS