Q: What types of food do teenagers tend to eat?
This year, the chief medical officer sounded the alarm about the state of teenage dietary health in the UK. His report found that 1.5 million boys and 1.2 million girls aged 11 to 15 do not eat the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Fizzy drinks were consumed by 95 per cent of teenagers, and the most commonly eaten foods among 11- to 18-year-olds are pizzas, burgers, sausages and chips, which tend to be loaded with salt and fat.
Young people are relentlessly targeted by junk food companies through posters, magazines, radio and the TV, as well as other methods such as text messaging, sponsorship and via the internet. At least 80 per cent of products these companies advertise are unhealthy. Recent examples include fast-food restaurant tie-ins to Batman and Indiana Jones films.
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