Half or just over half of these teenage girls meet the reference standards for vitamin A, vitamin E, iron, phosphorus, and zinc. Females ages 9 to 13 also tend to have low intakes of the same set of vitamins and minerals as teenage girls. Most children take fewer than the recommended number of servings of the five major food groups, especially in relation to their energy requirements. Only 2 percent of children meet Food Guide Pyramid servings recommendations for all five major food groups. Girls ages 14 to 18 have especially low intakes of fruits and dairy products, and this is consistent with their low mean nutrient intakes.
Children are heavy consumers of regular or diet soda.
Teenage males are especially heavy consumers of soda, with over a third consuming more than three servings a day. Small percentages of children meet the recommendations for intake of total fat, saturated fat, fiber, and sodium. Young children are most likely to meet the recommendations for sodium and fiber. Black children are very unlikely to meet recommendations for total fat, saturated fat, and sodium intake. Children s diets are high in added sugars.