FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 1998
Contacts:
Tracy Monday, 202/973-5886 or [email protected] or
Molly Spence, 202/973-1377
PARENTS SAY KIDS' SPRING SPORTS SHIFT MEAL ROUTINE
But Majority of Families Still Try To Eat Together, Survey Shows
The spring sports season sends kids racing to the soccer field, the baseball diamond, and the track. And busy parents race to get healthy meals on the table in the midst of all the action.
According to a recent national survey, almost half (46 percent) of Americans with children at home said at least one child in the family will participate in organized sports this spring. Among these people, a large majority (67 percent) said their children's spring sports activities will change or influence the family's mealtime routine.
The good news is that nearly three out of four (72 percent) of these families said they will continue to eat together, just later than usual. About half (54 percent) said they will rely on fast food restaurants more than usual.
With the first day of spring, March 20, right around the corner, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) encourages families to remember their five or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day, especially during this time that staying healthy and energized is so important.
"More Americans than ever know they should eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day," says Gloria Stables, M.S., R.D., director of NCI's 5 A Day for Better Health program. "The next step is to take this knowledge into the playing field by actually eating 5 A Day, every day. It's easy-even when you're in a rush." NCI has developed easy 5 A Day tips to help families eat more fruits and vegetables when busy spring schedules affect mealtime. For example:
* Send along healthy, no-prep snacks for before and after practice. Try mini bananas, a container of cherry tomatoes or berries, crunchy raw snowpeas or green beans, or dried fruit like cranberries and apricots.
* Supplement your take-out dinner with fruits and vegetables from home. Try a glass of 100-percent fruit or vegetable juice, a salad, microwaved vegetables, or some fruit for dessert.
* Pour some salad. Pre-washed, pre-cut salad in a bag is a truly great convenience-a cup of it accompanied by low-fat, bottled dressing is one 5 A Day serving ready in one minute.
All varieties of fruits and vegetables-fresh, frozen, canned, and dried-count toward 5 A Day, and a serving is smaller than many people think. One serving can be a medium piece of fruit; 1/2 cup of cooked, canned, or cut-up vegetables or fruit; a cup of chopped lettuce and other raw leafy vegetables; 3/4 cup (6 oz.) of 100-percent fruit or vegetable juice; 1/2 cup of canned legumes (beans and peas); or 1/4 cup dried fruit.
Recent data from NCI shows that Americans' awareness of the need to five or more servings of fruits and vegetables for overall health is at 39 percent, an all-time high. Among women in particular, 50 percent know of the need to eat 5 A Day.
For information on nutrition and cancer, consumers can call NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER, or visit the 5 A Day homepage at http://www.dcpc.nci.nih.gov/5aday.
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Media may call Tracy Monday or Molly Spence at 202/973-5800 for more information. All 5 A Day media materials, including recipes and photos, are available for unlimited use free of charge via Macintosh computer disk or Porter Novelli's Digital News Service (DNS). Call Steve Alexander at 202/973-5868 for more information about the DNS.
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