article_snippet: an ideal diet and almost a third (30 per cent) were overweight or even obese.
article_snippet: Scientists said few children under the age of 12 taking part had an ideal diet, and almost a third were overweight or even obese (file picture posed by model)
article_snippet: But if they have a horrible diet, they have a horrible diet will drive a worsening body mass index (BMI) and cholesterol levels.
article_snippet: Researchers examined BMI, healthy diet, total cholesterol and blood pressure
article_snippet: An ideal diet score was the least prevalent health indicator, with less than one per cent of children having four or five of the five components of a healthy diet.
article_snippet: The five indicators of a healthy diet include low intake of sugar-sweetened drinks and salt, and high intake of wholegrains, fish, plus fruit and vegetables.
article_snippet: Fewer than 10 per cent ate the recommended amounts of fruit and veg of more than 4.5 cups or more per day or fish, and wholegrains were the least frequently achieved component with just three per cent of boys and 2.4 per cent of girls hitting the target.
article_snippet: Ninety per cent ate more salt than recommended, and more than half consumed more than the recommended number of calories from sugar-sweetened drinks.
article_snippet: Researchers found ideal blood pressure was the most common favourable measure of cardiovascular health, ranging from 88 per cent to 93 per cent across sex and racial groups.
article_snippet: Without knowing how much physical activity a child is doing, and therefore how many calories are needed, we can’t scale the diet metrics to a child’s needs.
article_snippet: So we used the adult metrics, but understand that it would be difficult for a five-year-old to take in as many fruits and vegetables as an adult.
highlights_snippet: US study showed few children under 12 had an ideal diet, third were obese .
  