Healthy eating among 15 year olds
Published
1. Main facts and figures
- 52.4% of 15 year olds ate the recommended 5 daily portions of fruit and vegetables ('5-a-day') in the year to March 2015
- out of all ethnic groups, 15 year olds from the black (49.5%) and white (51.1%) ethnic groups were the least likely to eat 5-a-day
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data shows the percentage of 15 year olds in England who ate 5 portions of fruit and vegetables (‘5 a day’) the day before they were surveyed, by ethnicity.
Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal place.
Not included in the data
The data does not include pupils at independent schools.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Data is shown for 5 aggregated ethnic groups:
- Asian
- black
- mixed
- white
- other
This means estimates are shown for these groups as a whole. This is because the number of people surveyed was too small to make any reliable conclusions about any of the 19 ethnic groups used in the 2021 Census.
Methodology
The figures on this page are based on survey data. Find out more about:
- interpreting survey data, including how reliability is affected by the number of people surveyed
- how weighting is used to make survey data more representative of the whole group being studied
Data on fruit and vegetable consumption is also collected by:
- the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS)
- Health Survey England (HSE)
Their survey methods include interviewing and food diaries.
The data on this page is based on a home postal survey. The results for the different surveys are not comparable because of the different survey methods.
In the data file
Download the data for confidence intervals for each ethnic group – find out more about how we use confidence intervals to determine how reliable estimates are.
3. By ethnicity
| Ethnicity | % |
|---|---|
| All | 52.4 |
| Asian | 60.3 |
| Black | 49.5 |
| Mixed | 55.8 |
| White | 51.1 |
| Other | 64.9 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Healthy eating among 15 year olds By ethnicity Summary
This data shows that, in the year ending in March 2015:
- 52.4% of 15 year olds ate 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day (‘5 a day’)
- out of all ethnic groups, 15 year olds in the black (49.5%) and white (51.1%) ethnic group were least likely to eat 5 a day
- the percentage of 15 year olds who ate 5 a day was higher than the national average in the ‘other’ (64.9%), Asian (60.3%) and mixed (55.8%) ethnic groups
4. Data sources
Source
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
NHS Digital
Publication frequency
Unconfirmed
Purpose of data source
What About YOUth? 2014 (WAY 2014) is a newly-established survey designed to collect robust data on a range of health behaviours amongst 15 year-olds. This data is collected to understand smoking patterns in children and address the issues of reducing the uptake of smoking among children.
The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) was commissioned by the Department of Health to run the survey in direct response to the Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum. This Forum identified gaps in the Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) and other key health behaviour measures relating to young people. HSCIC contracted Ipsos MORI to carry out the survey.
WAY 2014 is the first survey to be conducted of its kind and it is hoped that the survey will be repeated in order to form a time series of comparable data on a range of indicators for 15 year-olds across England. Data has been collected on general health, diet, use of free time, physical activity, smoking, drinking, emotional wellbeing, drugs and bullying.
Secondary source
Public Health Outcomes Framework
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
Public Health England
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The What About YOUth? (WAY) survey was designed to collect data on a range of health behaviours amongst 15 year olds, including general health, diet, use of free time, physical activity, smoking, drinking, emotional wellbeing, drugs and bullying.
The Department of Health commissioned the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) to run the survey in 2014. Its purpose was to fill gaps in the Public Health Outcomes Framework and other key health behaviour measures relating to young people. HSCIC contracted Ipsos MORI to carry out the survey.
5. Download the data
This file contains: time, ethnicity, geography, value, upper and lower confidence intervals, sample size