OVER 15 PERCENT of children aged between 13 and 17 don’t eat fruit and vegetables at least once a day.

However, over 90% of children in Ireland aged between 2 and 17 are considered to be in “good” or “very good” health.

That’s according to the 2024 Irish Health Survey that’s been published today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Parents or guardians of the children were asked questions via an online questionnaire about their child’s health status, access to health care, nutrition, and recreational activities.

It found that fruits and vegetables were eaten at least once a day by 89.0% of children aged 2 to 17 years, while 95.9% had a meal with meat, chicken, or fish (or vegetarian equivalent) at least once a day.

Children aged between 2 to 8 (91.5%) were more likely to eat fruits and vegetables at least once a day, compared with children aged 13 to 17 years (84.3%).

For children between 9 and 12, this figure was 91.3%.

Meanwhile, the general health of some 92.4% of children between 2 and 17 was considered to be “good” or “very good”.

The remaining 7.6% were considered to have “fair, bad, or very bad” general health.

However, there is a marked decline when it comes to children’s general dental health.

The general dental health of some 82.3% of children aged 2 to 17 was considered to be “good or very good”.

Some 14.5% of children had “fair” general dental health, while 3.2% were considered to have “bad or very bad” general dental health.

Meanwhile, 18.4% of children aged 2 to 17 have a long-standing illness or health problem and this figure is higher for males (19.9%) than for females (16.8%).

A child’s long-standing illness or health problem refers to issues which have lasted, or are expected to last, for six months or more.

Elsewhere, around 5.6% of children were admitted to a hospital as an in-patient in the past 12 months, while 14.7% were admitted as a day-case patient.

Regarding medication, more than half (51.1%) had taken prescription medicine, non-prescription medicine, or vitamins in the two weeks prior to the interview.

Prescription medicine was taken by 18.7% of children aged 2 to 17 years and non-prescription medicine or vitamins were taken by 41.9% of children.

Almost half (48.8%) needed a medical examination or treatment (excluding dental) for a health problem in the past 12 months.

Elsewhere, participation in leisure activities – such as swimming, playing an instrument, or youth organisations – was highest for those aged 9 to 12 years (92.3%) and lowest for those aged 2 to 8 years (80.8%).

This figure is 83.6% for children aged 13-17.

Some 5,101 people took part in the survey and the CSO said it provides “reliable data about the health of people in Ireland, which can then be used in public health policies”.