"Seven a day"

Balanced that is

Because here are my seven: dates and apricots (twice, in date slices), a small orange, a pear, some cranberries (in a cookie), parsnips and tomato (cooked in cream). Seven. Nae bother

Other than that, I've eaten two beef sausages and three cream crackers with cheese. And I've drunk lots of tea with milk.

Yes!

Does carrot cake count?

I think advice in USA has been 7-9 portions for a long time. I have fruit for breakfast and the recent publicity has prompted me out of my laziness to get the soup pot out again!

What was unethical in the Clara Davis experiment? The children were presented with a range of healthy foods to choose from.

And what is there to criticise in Dr Spock's child feeding advice? Again

That's a shame, roses - you could have got a few decent 7 a day portions out of a cucumber to counteract all the rubbish yummy things!

Ana no cucumber was in the trolley on that particular day, but a number of very yummy things were there, not grown on trees or in the ground.
JessM I didn't know that Mr. Spock had much time for writing, what with all his starship duties.

Thank you nightowl. 1937. Astounding methodology. Unethical does not even cover it. Interesting isn't it that once Spock put reference to this in his writing it became so commonly referenced.

Impossible to do nutrition studies that are not epidemiological, I would think. They have to be done over a long time, as in the Oxford and Epic studies. The Epic study was to compare vegetarian/vegan diets with omnivore diets. I think it was for over 20 years; my husband and I were part of it.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which includes dieticians, has just completed a study of over 72000 people examining the nutrient intake of all groups of eaters.
They discovered that the average protein and B12 intake was roughly the same for all groups. Vegans had a higher intake of iron than meat-eaters and their calcium intake was at the recommended daily dose.
They had a higher intake of vitamins and minerals and fibre, and a lower intake of fat. They were also the group within normal BMI range, whereas all the other groups were in the overweight range. Total energy intakes were similar for all groups.

Reading how this research was conducted, I suspect finding a balanced diet was the least of those children's problems!

Sorry I gave the wrong link. I think this is the original study.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1626509/

That study with the children was done an awful long time ago and has been much quoted and misquoted over the decades. Anybody know what the original study was? All my books are packed away or given to oxfam last year.

Ana is right, the experiment involved very young children. This article doesn't seem to suggest there have been others.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=children+choose+a+balanced+diet&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari

Not totally to the point but interesting. One of the large supermarket chains in New Zealand is now selling lottery tickets at the standard check-outs. There is already evidence that when there is a rollover less is spent on food. It does say something about people's priorities and healthy eating.

As long as it had a decent-sized cucumber in it you'll be OK, roses!

Just as well, as my trolley today in Sainsburys had a few guilty pleasures in it.

Wonder how many have read this study. Isn't it based on the eating habits of over 60,000 people and their incidence of stroke and cancer?

The advice is offered. Take it or leave it, your choice. No Food Police checking your trolley at the checkout

Bang on about epidemiological 'studies', jane, and vested interests.

Must have been a different one I remember, jane.

Ana I think it was older children, and as Absent says, the observations were carried out over a period of time.
A balanced diet doesn't have to include all that wide a range of foodstuffs - there are many different sources of protein for example.

You are, of course, right janeainsworth. I think the experiment was done quite a while ago when ready meals were not so widely available and before a balanced diet meant a Big Mac in each hand.

I seem to remember the children in the research experiment were very young, not much more than babies. Older children are more likely to be more convinced of their likes and dislikes and be averse to anything unfamiliar, so would not necessarily eat a balanced diet if they were allowed to choose what to eat.

Yes Absent I think that has been known for some time, that children will select for themselves a balanced diet over time.
However, what they are offered has to be balanced, and I am afraid there are many homes where what is on offer isn't balanced or nutritious.

Jess and Flickety I think the problem with the science of nutrition is that most of the evidence that is used is epidemiological, and so not robust, compared with randomised controlled trials.
The not very good evidence is then 'interpreted' by others with vested interests. That includes of course the Department of Health.