British parents have ‘no idea’ why their kids need five-a-day

Two thirds said they were confused about how to give their kids a healthy diet.

Many UK parents are surprisingly confused about how to feed their kids a healthy diet, according to a new study.

A poll carried out by Boots Kids Vitamins found two thirds of parents don’t know what vitamins and minerals their youngsters need.

Of the 2000 parents questioned, one in 10 admitted they had ‘no idea’ why kids need five portions of fruit and veg a day.

A fifth were also unsure of the ways to boost vitamin D, which can be found in fish and meat and helps prevent bone deficiencies such as rickets.

Oranges are a well-known source of vitamin C, but more than 15 per cent of parents said they needed more guidance about how to boost their child’s daily intake.

The Department of Health recommends all children aged six months to five years are given vitamin supplements containing vitamins A, C and D every day.

Vitamin A helps the immune system and can be found in cheese, fish and eggs, while vitamin C and D helps keep bones and muscles healthy.

However, almost half were unaware of this guidance, while those who were admitted they didn’t know the benefits of each vitamin or what food they could be found in.

Boots Kids Vitamins spokeswoman Parminder Kaur said the study showed the impact of inaccurate information being disseminated online.

She said: ‘Brits are more conscious than ever about what they put into their bodies.

‘However, while sources like the internet have made lots of information available, there is also a lot of disinformation out there which can be hard to filter out.

‘So, it’s not surprising there is confusion around how much we need of certain types of vitamins, or even where to get them from.’