Children's diets: the view from Belfast

Tuesday 24 February 2004

Most people think that parents should be responsible for improving their children's diets, according to the results of a poll carried out by the Food Standards Agency Northern Ireland in Castle Court, Belfast.

When asked to list who should take responsibility for improving children's diets in order of importance, 79% of consumers thought parents had most responsibility; 10% thought that food manufacturers were second most responsible, with Government third (8%) and schools fourth (3%). The poll was similar to that carried out by the Agency in England.

During the poll, leaflets were distributed explaining the background to the debate and the role of the Agency. Free fruit was also given out to everyone taking part and children were encouraged to enter the word puzzle and colouring competitions.

The poll was part of a wider consultation exercise the Agency carried out on promotional activity and children's diets in Northern Ireland, which involved more than 1,000 organisations from the education sector, food industry, local government and central Government departments.