Home garden key to children eating produce

ST. LOUIS (UPI) -- If parents have a hard time getting their children to eat salads, they should try growing it themselves, suggests a Saint Louis University study.

U.S. children served homegrown fruits and vegetables are more likely to eat more than those who seldom get farm-fresh produce, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

"It was a simple, clear finding," study author Debra Haire-Joshu, director of Saint Louis University's Obesity Prevention Center, said in a statement. "Whether a food is homegrown makes a difference. Garden produce creates what we call a 'positive food environment.'"

The study also finds children who grow up eating fresh-from-the-garden produce also prefer the taste of fruits and vegetables to other foods.

The researchers find the garden-fed children were more likely to see their parents eating fruits and vegetables, and a greater variety of fruits and vegetables -- more tomatoes, cantaloupe, broccoli, beans and carrots -- were available.