Teenagers often eat unhealthy, toddlers and elderly people have the healthiest diets

Teenagers are the most unhealthy eaters in the country, Statistics Netherlands has reported. They eat a great deal of unhealthy snacks and drink many drinks with an excess amount of sugar while hardly eating fruit. Small children and elderly people are the healthiest eaters.

The researchers of Statistics Netherlands asked people about their eating and drinking habits and calculated a number from 0 to 10 per category based on the answers. People 65 years of age and older scored a 7.5, while 45 to 65-year-olds got a 7.2. The only part that they are behind on is eating enough fruit.

Toddlers received a 7.1 out of 10. They, just like primary school children, receive a lot of vegetables and fruit. However, toddlers also drink a lot of drinks with excess sugar and eat a relatively high amount of snacks.

Young people between 12 and 18 years of age received a 5.9 out of 10. One of the reasons for this is that three in four teenagers eat more than three big snacks per week. The final score is boosted somewhat because they also eat a lot of brown bread, wholemeal bread, and vegetables, but they also score lower than other age groups in this.

Research showed that women have healthier eating and drinking habits than men. People with a higher level of education generally eat healthier than others, but they also drink more alcohol.

The Netherlands Nutrition Centre, who were involved in the study, said that more attention is needed for healthier eating and drinking patterns for children. “It is good to see that the youngest children eat relatively healthy. Many parents are consciously working on that,” said director Petra Verhoef.

However, as the children get older they are more tempted by unhealthy food. As a parent or educator, you can hardly compete with that, especially if you lack certain food skills or have little money to spend on healthy food."