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Crisps, chocolates and lots of fun
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Teenagers prefer fast food, crisps and chocolates
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Teenagers prefer fast food, crisps and chocolates
TEENAGERS KNOW which foods are good for them but cannot be bothered to eat healthily or learn to cook properly, according to a survey by the British grocery industry. Although three quarters associate a good diet with long-term health, few can make more than toast and most choose crisps and chocolates rather than fruit.
Among those who do eat fruit, laziness puts them off anything that requires peeling. "If we buy grapes I eat loads and loads," a 17-year-old middle class boy said. "I just pick them out of the fridge. Peeling oranges is a chore."
Four out of 10 teenagers surveyed for the Institute of Grocery Distribution did not eat breakfast. Almost half ate at a fast food restaurant at least once a week, more out of idleness and a desire for convenience than for any other reason.
"I have crisps for breakfast so I can have them on the bus," a 15-year-old girl said. When they arrive at school, few teenagers eat healthily. More than half eat junk food or buy fatty snacks and fizzy drinks from the shops rather than eat a school dinner or a packed lunch. Only one in six buy fruit, vegetables or yoghurt.
"In the morning I have cereal," a 17-year-old boy said. "But sometimes I can't be bothered so I just have a drink. At break time at school I might have three chocolate bars or a burger."
Diets worsen at weekends and during holidays. A 16-year-old girl was typical of the two in five teenagers who miss breakfast because they stay in bed.
She said: "at weekends or in the holidays I don't usually eat until the evening because I sleep more during the day."
Few teenagers associate eating with regular meal times and most lack the skill to prepare anything more than a ready meal.
While six out of 10 of those asked knew how to use a microwave, less than a quarter had ever made a pasta sauce.
The study, which said the number of obese people had almost tripled since the present generation of teenagers was born, will make worrying reading for the Government.
It is facing an obesity epidemic that is expected to have profound implications for the future health of the nation.
"Instant gratification is at the forefront of teenagers' demands," the survey says. "Issues such as health and nutrition rarely register in the teenage mind and matter only later in life."
A 17-year-old boy said: "I will eat junk food until I am 30 then start acting like a grown-up."
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