Just over half (58%) of eight to 15-year-olds eat healthy snacks such as fruit, vegetables, seeds or rice cakes compared with 89% who choose “standard” snacks including crisps, biscuits, confectionery and cakes, the YouGov SixthSense study found.
And confectionery as a whole is more popular than fruit, with 63% of children eating it as a snack compared with 54% opting for the latter.
Almost seven in 10 children snack at least once a day, with 16% doing so twice a day or more.
Fruit is the post popular snack among British adults (51%), followed by crisps (43%), sweet or chocolate biscuits (40%), chocolate bars (36%) and other chocolate confectionery (27%).
The study found 46% of male crisp eaters say they eat them because they are hungry, while 36% of women say they eat them to satisfy cravings.
Only 14% of adults consider their children to be slightly overweight and just 1% very overweight, while 2% of eight to 15-year-olds are on a diet.
YouGov SixthSense research director James McCoy said: “Anyone concerned about childhood obesity in Britain will likely find this report alarming. While it’s encouraging that fruit rates highly as a snack choice for children, they are still eating far more crisps and confectionery products.
“With a third of eight to 15-year-olds eating crisps every single day it’s clear that more needs to be done to make healthier snack options more appealing to children.”
YouGov surveyed 2,100 adults between January 23-26 and 502 children aged eight to 15 between January 18-24.
http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/33-of-children-eat-crisps-daily-29159240.html