
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 29, 1995                   TAG: 9503290061
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS                                LENGTH: Medium

FRUIT, VEGETABLES, TOOTHBRUSH?

One-quarter of America's schoolchildren don't eat fruits or vegetables every day or brush their teeth every night, and half think apple juice has more fat than whole milk, a nationwide survey found.

The survey's sponsors say the message is clear: Bad health habits as well as good ones start early.

The survey was conducted by the American Health Foundation, a private New York-based research organization, and Scholastic Inc., a publisher.

Dr. Ernst L. Wynder, the foundation's president, said the findings show Americans are doing a poor job of educating youngsters about healthy ways of living.

Wynder released the survey findings Tuesday at a conference sponsored by the American Cancer Society. It was based on a questionnaire distributed to 3,112 children in grades 2 through 6.

``These statistics knock you out of your chair,'' commented Dr. Edward J. Sondik, acting director of the National Cancer Institute. ``The more we can teach youngsters about a healthy lifestyle, the better off we'll be. We aren't doing a very good job.''

Among the findings:

24 percent had eaten no fruit and 25 percent had eaten no vegetables the previous day.

24 percent did not brush their teeth the night before.

15 percent said they thought cheese was a good source of fiber. (It's not.) And 16 percent said fiber reduces the risk of cancer. (It does.)

48 percent said they thought apple juice, which contains no fat, has more fat than whole milk, which has a lot. Moreover, 36 percent said watermelon has more fat than American cheese.

59 percent did not wear a helmet the last time they rode a bicycle.

7 percent said aspirin is an illegal drug.

12 percent did not believe AIDS could be passed from person to person. Another 12 percent thought the disease is caused by vaccination.

7 percent plan to smoke cigarettes, while 15 percent are not sure. Eleven percent of the sixth-graders have already smoked, and 34 percent have tried alcohol.

Studies suggest that about one-third of all cancer in the United States could be prevented by better diets. Even though the precise nutrients involved in cancer are not known, research suggests that people who eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and fiber and relatively little fat have a reduced cancer risk.

Getting adults to change their eating habits is difficult. The California Department of Health Services conducted a public education campaign to encourage people to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

Susan B. Foerster, the department's chief, told the conference that while the program was going on from 1989 to 1993, consumption remained unchanged at just under four servings a day.

by CNB