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Children in the United Kingdom have misconceptions about food origins, study says.
The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF), a charity that disseminates information about food and nutrition, conducted a survey among 5,040 British schoolchildren as part of its Healthy Eating Week. Results showed that 29% of children aged five to seven had the impression that cheese is derived from plants, rather than animals, while 18% of the same age group thought that fish fingers were made of chicken.
Teenaged students were also found to have misconceptions as 26% of 14 to 16-year-olds thought that consumption of strawberry jam contributed to their required daily fruit and vegetable intake.
Aside from knowledge of food origins, the survey identified the children’s sources of information about healthy eating. The Internet outranked schools, with over 50% of the respondents depending on the Internet for nutritional facts. Schools, on the other hand, only ranked second.
According to Roy Ballam, BNF’s managing director, children’s exposure to these information sources can affect their knowledge and lifestyle. He stressed that schools, along with families, play an integral role in encouraging children to make healthy lifestyle choices. He also believes that the government should equip teachers with sufficient food and nutrition knowledge through training to emphasize the importance of their role.
BNF’s survey is not the first to reveal the food misconceptions of children in the United Kingdom. A 2016 poll conducted by British supermarket chain Asda revealed that 41% of children below the age of eight did not know that chickens produce eggs. In addition, one-third of the respondents did not know about the existence of the leafy vegetable kale.