Post-war children healthier than today

Child nutrition in the 1950s was superior to the 1990s, according to researchers - despite the food shortages of the post-war period. In a recent study led by Professor Michael Wadsworth, Director of the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development, the diet records of 4,600 children aged four in 1950 were compared with similar records taken in 1992. Results implied that the 1950s diet was almost in line with current recommendations on healthy eating for children. Estimates in 1990 suggested that one in 20 children aged nine to 11 could be classified as clinically obese and is now recognised as a real public health issue. According to the research children in the post-war 1950's consumed more calcium and fibre (from bread and milk), drank fewer soft drinks, deriving less of their energy from sugar and obtained much of their vitamin C from vegetables rather than juices and drinks. They also ate more red meat, giving them more iron.