Surprise, surprise: Teenagers aren’t eating enough fruits and vegetables
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention takes a look at teenage diets—and they’re not good. Only 2 percent of more than 13,000 high school students surveyed in 2017 were getting the minimum recommended allotment of two and a half to three cups of vegetables per day, and about 7 percent were getting enough fruit. (Juice counts.) Those figures showed no progress since the CDC’s last report in 2013—findings that “aren’t necessarily surprising, but they are discouraging,” per a food policy expert. US News & World Report points out that government nutrition programs, like the National School Lunch Program, go a long way in helping kids meet those goals—but with millions of students falling off the lunch rolls this year, those habits aren’t likely to improve any time soon.
