It is time to act, says Agneta Yngve, professor of culinary arts and meal science at Orebro University who together with Christel Lynch, Bettina Ehrenblad and Eric Poortvliet from Karolinska Institutet, and researchers from nine other European countries have examined how much fruit and vegetables school children eat.

Not even half of the children in this study eat fruit every day. The picture is a little bit brighter when it comes to vegetables. 55 per cent add vegetables to their diet on a daily basis, says Agneta Yngve.

On average, school children in this European study eat between 220-345 grams of fruit and vegetables a day. Norway and Bulgaria have the highest average daily intake with 345 grams and 320 grams respectively. In Sweden, children consume 291 grams a day. Finland comes in at the bottom of the table with 220 grams. Sweden stands out as the country where school children eat the most vegetables.

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