A SURVEY OF 500 teenagers has found that just half of teenagers eat enough fruit and vegetables.

58 per cent of teens eat junk food at least once a week, 34 per cent have soft drinks daily and just one-third were aware that they should be getting an hours exercise daily.

The results of the survey by Behaviour and Attitudes were revealed to coincide with the launch of the second year of the Pumped Schools’ Video Awards.

The awards, supported by Bayer in association with the Irish Heart Foundation and the Federation of Irish Sport, seek to encourage young people to get creative about science and health and produce 90-second videos on a heart health topic.

The survey revealed that 12 per cent of teens felt they don’t eat sensibly and 7 per cent felt that they may not be the correct weight. 16 per cent said that they would trade feeling healthy for looking good.

Maureen Mulvihill, Health Promotion Manager at the Irish Heart Foundation said that some of the results were concerning.

These findings show that teenagers have a lot on their plate not only at school but literally as well, because many are eating too much unhealthy food.

The high consumption of fast food and soft drinks – both high in calories – is of particular concern, especially as one in five young people is overweight or obese.”

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