You'll eat what you're given - parents are controlling their children's diets

You'll eat what you're given - parents are controlling their children's diets

Two thirds of mums believe that their children should eat what they are given - signalling a major shift in attitude as parents seek control in the healthy eating debate.

Three years after the start of Jamie Oliver’s school dinners campaign, a new report by global market insight group TNS has revealed a steep rise in the number of parents trying to exercise more control over what their children eat, with just 27 per cent of the nation’s parents now happy to buy what their children want, compared with 41 per cent in 2005. Almost two thirds of mums believe that their children should eat what they are given - nearly 20 per cent more than in 2003.

Despite increased investment in school meals, parents are also increasingly managing what their children eat at school, with the number of lunchboxes prepared at home rising 8% to 1.2 billion a year. The contents of children’s lunchboxes are also falling prey to health concerns - with one in four parents saying ‘health reasons’ now determine what goes in the packed lunch.

The typical 2008 child’s lunchbox includes 16 per cent more fruit, 32 per cent more yoghurt and 25 per cent more vegetables than this time a year ago, as parents crank up the healthy eating orders.

Eating together as a family is another major shift witnessed through the TNS study. The typical British household eats five more meals together every month than they did three years ago - and is also eating at the table more, with an increasing number of households favouring the dining room over eating in front of the TV.

Notably, this trend towards more formal dining has led to a decline in how often people are snacking - after two decades of almost uninterrupted growth.

Matt Stockbridge, consumer insight director, said: “Over the past three years snacking has declined by 11 per cent, despite the importance of healthy choices such as fresh fruit. There is a real shift in the types of snacks consumed in schools and in the workplace, with crisps and confectionery in decline while fruit is on the up. Fruit is now the most popular in-school snack, being eaten 192 million times per year.”

The report also reveals that Britain spends £11bn a year on healthy eating, but concludes that there is “still a long way to 5 A DAY”.