(NewsNation) — A new CDC report warns that America’s youngest children — those between the ages of 1 and 5 — aren’t consuming enough fruits and vegetables.
“In 20 states, more than one half of children did not eat a vegetable daily during the preceding week” of the survey, the CDC noted.
That statistic is drawn from the 2021 National Survey of Children’s Health, which gathers data from parents.
Using the same survey, the CDC found that while many children aren’t getting the fruits and vegetables they need, they are consuming large amounts of sugary drinks.
“In 40 states and the District of Columbia, more than one half of children drank a sugar-sweetened beverage at least once during the preceding week,” the public health agency said.
There were significant disparities across regions. In Vermont, for instance, around 30 percent of the youngest children did not eat a daily vegetable during the previous week, while in Louisiana the number was over 64 percent.
Overall, around 32 percent of kids in this age range didn’t eat a daily fruit and 49 percent of kids didn’t eat a daily vegetable in the previous week. Meanwhile, just over 57 percent drank a beverage that was sweetened with sugar at least once during the preceding week.
“When kids are limiting or reducing beverages with added sugar, that can have some significant health impacts,” Heather Hamner, one of the authors of the study and a scientist at the CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, told ABC News. “Those are linked to cavities and can later be linked to obesity.”