Half of California kids don't eat a daily veggie, CDC finds

California kids need to step up their fruits and veggies intake.

What's happening: About 50% of youngsters in California did not eat a daily vegetable in the prior week, the CDC reported last Friday.

• Californian kids are a little better about eating their fruit, with around 68% of children getting at least one fruit in their daily diets.
• Yes, but: About 53% drank a sugar-sweetened beverage at least once in the prior week.

Why it matters: While this data is only a snapshot in time, it offers a glimpse at the quality of kids' diets — which impacts their growth and development — at a time of increased interest in addressing childhood nutrition, as well as concerns about the pending loss of pandemic-era food benefits, Axios' Tina Reed reports.

• It also comes as urgency grows around the impact of food on diet-related illnesses and increasing attention on food as medicine initiatives in state Medicaid programs.

Details: Researchers examined more than 18,000 responses from parents to the 2021 National Survey of Children’s Health regarding what their kids between the ages of 1 and 5 consumed in the previous week.

• Nationally, just under half (49.1%) said their child did not eat a daily vegetable and 32.1% indicated their child didn't consume a daily fruit.
• Meanwhile, 57.1% indicated their child had consumed a sugar-sweetened beverage at least once in the prior week.

Of note: There were a number of differences by race and ethnicity. For instance, the percentage of those who did not consume a daily fruit or vegetable was greatest among non-Hispanic Black children.

Between the lines: The study didn't break out San Francisco, but health experts say the city's soda tax is working to reduce the consumption of sugary beverages.

• Consumption in San Francisco of sugar-sweetened drinks dropped significantly in the first two years following the city's 2018 implementation of the soda tax, according to a recent study from the Public Health Institute's Prevention Policy Group.
• The soda tax goes toward a variety of initiatives, including ones that focus on children's oral health and student nutrition services in public schools.