MANY youngsters are still living on a daily diet of junk food and failing to eat enough fruit and veg, a survey suggests.

Almost a third of secondary-age pupils (29pc) are tucking into sweets, crisps and chocolate three or more times a day, it warns.

And two in five (40pc) say that fizzy or energy drinks are their daily drink of choice.

The poll, commissioned by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), questioned more than 2,000 11-to-16-year-olds in the UK about their eating habits.

The findings show that on average, these youngsters eat 2.57 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, with around 25pc saying they eat one piece or less.

Overall, nearly nine in ten (88pc) are not eating the recommended five portions a day, the BHF said.

Around a third (34pc) said they normally eat crisps for lunch, with 31pc saying they eat fruit at lunchtime, and 9pc eating salad.

More than one in five (21pc) eat a chocolate bar at lunch, the poll found.

The BHF said that based on the survey results, a child’s typical daily diet includes a chocolate bar, crisps, a fizzy drink, an energy drink and a bag of jelly sweets.

It means that from snacks alone, youngsters are eating their way through nearly 30 teaspoons of sugar, more fat than is in a cheeseburger and more than a third of their daily calorie intake.

The poll was commissioned to mark the launch of the BHF’s Food4Thought campaign, to help tackle childhood obesity. Around a third (32pc) of English youngsters aged 11 to 15 are overweight or obese.

The campaign will see healthy vending machines introduced in 30 UK schools to encourage youngsters to choose healthy snacks.

Victoria Taylor, senior dietician at the BHF said: “Five-a-day seems to have a whole new meaning for some young people.

“They are consuming an alarming amount of fizzy drinks, sweets, chocolate and crisps as a regular part of their daily diet.”

She warned that it has already been suggested that today’s generation of children may not live longer than their parents because of the impact of their lifestyle.

“We’ve all got to realise that this generation’s food choices today could have long term consequences on their future health,” she said.

:: The OnePoll survey questioned 2,002 UK children aged 11-16 between September 6-19.

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