The Scotsman  22 June 2007  [Colin Waine]

ONE in six Scottish children count crisps as a part of their five-a-day fruit and veg intake, according to a report that shows the extent of ignorance among young people into what constitutes healthy eating. In Scotland, 13 per cent of children count sliced bread as a vegetable portion and 17 per cent include low-fat crisps, well above the national average.

The survey of 1,000 children aged eight to 15 shows that although most have heard of government guidelines for five fruit and vegetable portions daily, they are largely in the dark over which foods count.  Across Britain, where nearly a quarter of UK children are now classed as obese, one in ten children believes pasta is a vegetable.  The survey shows 18 per cent of British children don't class frozen peas as a healthy vegetable, while more than one in every six did not count rhubarb as a fruit. Nearly a third discounted tinned tomatoes.

Children are also confused over starchy foods, with more than one in ten thinking pasta is a vegetable and 6 per cent counting bread.  The study also found children living in cities are more ignorant than their country counterparts, with rural youngsters half as likely to include pasta in their five-a-day. The government issued five-a-day guidelines in an effort to alleviate the obesity epidemic in the UK.

But Colin Waine said: "It's all very well having guidelines, but there's not much point unless people know what foods to eat.  This shows we are no closer to dealing with obesity, particularly amongst children."   He said the findings of the survey were shocking, adding: "This is a prevalent problem over the country. This is really what Jamie Oliver found when he went into schools a couple of years ago - that kids can't recognise healthy foods.  It shows a lack of education, and I think in many ways it is a reflection on parents. I wouldn't be surprised if the figures about selecting fruit and veg corresponded for some adults.

"We need to be targeting young mothers before they have their first baby, so that they know about healthy eating and are equipped to make the right choices.  They need to have nutrition high in their priorities."

Dr Waine said schools had a part to play in healthy eating, but added: "The problem is by the time children get to school at four or five, the seeds for unhealthy eating are already sown."  On the town-country divide, Dr Waine said: "Children living in the countryside are more exposed to healthier and natural foods, so we particularly need to target children in urban areas."   The survey was part of the Dairy Farmers of Britain's Grass is Greener campaign, which looks at children's understanding of healthy eating.