Reveal Marketing Research Study: 65% of Children Consume Sweets Daily
Bucharest, September 16, 2021 – The Association for Social Responsibility “Plan B” announces the results of a national survey on children’s eating behavior. The sociological research follows the CSR project of nutritional education “Akademia Kinderland”, a mobile school of nutrition and nutrition application in Romanian, carried out by the association and Kaufland Romania in the last four years. The study on children’s eating behavior was conducted in partnership with Reveal Marketing Research, from August 25 to September 5.
In addition to important information about the eating habits and education of children in Romania, the study aims to sound the alarm that the wrong eating habits that parents pass on to children is a national emergency due to the long-term effects that they affect the health of the little ones.
According to the data provided by the target group – parents over the age of 25, involved in feeding their children – behaviors related to family nutrition are not among the healthiest. Thus, 65% of children up to 14 years of age consume sweets daily, and 22% of the interviewed parents admit that the little ones eat sweets two or three times a day, while the recommendation of nutritionists is 1-2 times/week. .
The little ones consume juices, salty snacks and semi-prepared products weekly
Also, 43% of parents said that their little ones drink carbonated drinks once a week or more often, and 14% of them choose juices instead of water for hydration. When asked about the types of food they usually offer to children, 52% of the respondents indicated salty snacks (chips, sticks) and 49% semi-prepared products such as sausages or hot-dogs.
Among those interviewed, significant percentages claim that they almost always have sweets (41%), semi-prepared products (31%) and carbonated non-alcoholic beverages (19%) at home.
Although 69% of parents say they are aware that their eating habits influence a child’s eating behavior, only 35% of them characterize their lifestyle as “rather healthy”.
More processed foods, less fruits and vegetables
The presence of processed foods in Romanians’ preferences is also noteworthy – 52% of parents said that their children consume processed products once a week or more often, and 12% admit that they are used to eating processed foods instead. to the fresh ones.
Paradoxically, 56% of parents consider that processed foods are unhealthy, the main foods of this type mentioned spontaneously being sausages, dairy products and fast food products.
At the same time, 3 out of 10 parents claim that their children do not eat fresh fruit daily or almost daily.
Sour soup, Romanians’ favorite dish
Regarding the types of dishes preferred by the children of the interviewed Romanians, the sour soup ranks first (45%), followed by cooked food and potatoes cooked in various ways (35% and 34%, respectively), while for breakfast most prefer milk cereals (73%). Sweets, croissants and pastries come to the fore when discussing snacks between meals that children choose.
The study on children’s eating behaviors was conducted, at the request of the Association for Social Responsibility “Plan B” and Kaufland Romania, by the market research company Reveal Marketing Research, between August 25 and September 5, on a nationally representative sample of 801 respondents , the sampling error being +/- 3.5%.