Researchers have found a link between the education of parents and the eating habits of their children.
The study conducted by The University of British Columbia found that children of college-educated parents were more likely to eat vegetables and drink considerably less sugary beverages.
According to a study released last year, Americans were developing healthier eating habits with more awareness. The top 10 foods people prefer to eat at home are sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, carbonated soft drinks, milk, coffee, potatoes, salty snacks, fruit juice and cold cereal. The number of people consuming fruits had also gone up.
The current study suggests that parental education and socioeconomic status predicts food preferences among children.
Researchers examined students from a school in Vancouver, Canada. They found that children whose parents completed some post-secondary education were 85 percent more likely to eat vegetables during the school week.
The findings of the study also revealed that children of college graduates were 67 percent less likely to drink sugary beverages. "We can only speculate on the reasons for the disparities," said study author Jennifer Black, a food, nutrition and health professor in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. "Higher-priced products, like vegetables, may not be the food that gets packed first for vulnerable families that need to make tough choices about school lunches."
But researchers also found that children of all socioeconomic status did not have adequate amounts of low-fat milk or whole grains on school days. The findings stated that a majority of children preferred foods high in sodium and saturated fat like chips and fries.
"While there are still barriers that exist for low-income children, families from across the socioeconomic spectrum are struggling to get their kids to eat healthy food at school," said Black.
"Our findings challenge this common notion that only low-income families feed their kids junk food because it appears wealthy families are not always making healthier choices either," she concluded.
The study was published in the journal Public Health Nutrition.
