Consumption of fruits and vegetables in a group of valencian children of school age.

Introduction: In the last 25 years there has beena great change in the food habits in Spain.Objectives: To calculate and assess the consumption of fruits and vegetables in school children. To identify the type of desserts eaten and analyze the influence children have on the purchase of fruit andvegetables made by parents.Materials and methods: A survey was carried out on parents of primary school children. A total of 155 questionnaires were handed into the school, obtaining a sample of 116 completed questionnaires. Results: Only 5.17% eat 3 or more portions of fruit per day. Regarding vegetables, 30.17% consume 1 or 2 portions. 18.97% have fruit as a dessert. 25% of the parents purchase fruit most days as a result of the children request and 12.93% purchase vegetables.Discussion: Children do not consume enough fruit and vegetables. Children have an influence on fruit and vegetable purchases. Conclusions: The majority of the studied children do not follow the dietary recommendations regarding consumption of fruit and vegetables. Consumption of fruit for dessert is low. Children have a bigger influence on fruit purchases than in vegetables purchases.