Food and Family

Want your kids to eat healthy? Check your own diet. The more fruit and vegetables Mum and Dad eat, the more Junior is likely to consume, according to a study of two- to six-year-olds at London’s University College. And youngsters who were introduced to these foods earlier tended to reach for them more often. Those who had been breast-fed ate fruit and vegetables more frequently than bottle-fed kids. The likely reason? Breast milk takes on the flavours of the food Mum eats.

Speaking of milk, American researchers found that girls who met calcium requirements had mums who drank more milk. Moreover, those who got at least the minimum recommended amount of calcium at age five (800mg daily) were nearly five times as likely to do so at age nine (1300mg daily).