Dundalk schoolchildren may have a lesson for the Government in tackling Ireland's nutritional problems.
The National Health and Lifestyles Survey found fruit consumption had declined by almost 50 per cent among school-going children.
However, two Dundalk primary schools have managed to buck the trend by increasing fruit consumption by 37 per cent. The "Food Dudes" programme also led to a 41 per cent increase in the children's consumption of vegetables.
Some children who ate virtually no fruit and vegetables increased their vegetable intake ten-fold and their fruit intake seven-fold.
Developed by Prof Fergus Lowe, an Irish-born professor of psychology at Bangor University, Wales, Food Dudes encourages children aged four to 11 to dare to taste a variety of fruit and vegetables, then to eat the ones they like regularly as a lifelong habit.
Two Dundalk primary schools - Dundalk Grammar School Junior Section and Dun Dealgan National School - participated in the scheme. Fyffes plc sponsored the scheme and provided the fruit and vegetables.
Prof Lowe has spent 15 years working on a solution to children's dietary problems. Studies have shown Irish children do not eat enough fruit and vegetables.
The study consisted of two parts, a baseline period during which each child's consumption of fruit and vegetables was assessed, and an intervention period during which the children were encouraged through a series of videos and rewards to eat the fruit and vegetables provided.
The Food Dudes intervention period made a massive difference. The percentage of children eating fruit rose from 39 per cent to 76 per cent and children eating vegetables rose from 21 per cent to 62 per cent.