10% of Children in Turkey Cannot Eat Fresh Fruits

In Turkey, it has been determined that 94.5% of children are in good or very good health. According to TUIK data, it has been revealed that 10 out of 100 children cannot eat fresh fruits and vegetables due to financial constraints. The Turkish Statistical Institute announced the statistics for Child Health and Deprivation 2024. It was found that when the overall health status of children was examined, 94.5% were in good or very good condition, 4.6% were in fair condition, and 0.9% were in poor or very poor condition. Examining the health status of children according to age groups, it was estimated that 95.1% of those aged 0-5, 94.7% of those aged 6-11, and 93.5% of those aged 12-15 were in good or very good condition. Among the youngest age group of 0-5-year-olds, 0.7% were in poor or very poor health, 0.9% of those in the 6-11 age group, and 1% of those aged 12-15 were determined to be in poor or very poor health. It was noted that 53.7% of children in poor or very poor health had their daily activities severely limited due to a health problem experienced in the last 6 months, while 40.9% had some limitations, and 5.4% had no limitations. Additionally, the survey results indicated that 9% of 100 children cannot afford new clothing. According to the survey, the percentage of households with children aged 15 and under who had new clothing was 88.6%, while the percentage of households where children did not have new clothing due to financial constraints was 9.2%, and those without new clothing due to other reasons was 2.2%. The survey revealed that among all households with children aged 15 and under, the percentage who consumed fresh fruits and vegetables at least once a day was 86.7%, with 10% unable to afford this due to financial constraints, and 3.3% due to other reasons. Furthermore, 51.2% of households could cover the cost of a week-long holiday for their children away from home, while 22.2% were unable to do so due to financial constraints, and 26.6% due to other reasons. The survey further showed that 80.8% of households did not have a suitable place for their children to study or do homework due to financial constraints, 81% lacked toys for children to play with, and 81.1% lacked age-appropriate books, with parents having education levels below high school. The study titled Child Health and Deprivation was applied as a module in conjunction with the Income and Living Conditions Survey in 2024. This module, administered concurrently with EU countries, investigated the health and deprivation status of all children aged 15 and under in households. The study included all settlements but excluded university dormitories, guesthouses, childcare institutions, foster homes, prisons, barracks, and military facilities. In total, 27,401 households were visited in the research, with 25,925 surveys conducted. The sample households had a total population of 61,940 aged 15 and above.