KIDS SPEAK: In a roundtable, kids express their thoughts and feelings about a given topic. It is an expression of opinion, based on the experiences of each participant.

Most kids living in the '90s think they know what healthy foods are. And most kids think they know what the five food groups are.

But when we talked with six Children's Express members recently, we realized that they didn't necessarily know and certainly didn't always apply these nutritious habits to their everyday lives.

WHAT KIDS KNOW

ELIZABETH, 14: We studied food a lot last year in home ec. We had to make food and stuff like that. I know the four food groups and you're supposed to have so many servings of pasta and bread a day. And that you should have five fruits or vegetables to keep cancer away.

MITCHELL, 13: I don't know much about it but the most I know is milk does the body good.

JILL, 12: The five (food) groups are vegetables, milk or dairy products and meat and poultry. I can't remember any more.

MARIA, 10: I know that even (eating too much of) some really healthy foods can make you as sick as if you just pigged out on sweets and fats.

WHAT THEY CHOOSE TO EAT

MARIA: Every once in a while I'll see the back of a cereal box and it will have the food pyramid. And I'll say, "OK, now starting today I'm going to meet those requirements." And I'll do that for about one or two days and then I'll just start eating really poorly again.

I do eat kinda poorly. I'm trying to stop that, but it's hard.

AMBER, 11: I do try to drink eight glasses of water a day but sometimes I just can't. Sometimes I do like to pig out on sweets. I do try to eat vegetables a lot.

HANS, 10: My mom makes me eat all my meals and she usually includes a lot of vegetables and fruits. But sometimes I don't eat all the five food groups every meal like you're supposed to. But I make up for it every once in a while, when (my mom) has a big stew or something.

ELIZABETH: In our house we're pretty formal about dinner. . . . For dinner we usually have meat, like, steak or meat loaf or something. And then we'll have something to accompany it. We always have a vegetable or we have something with carbohydrates like potatoes or bread. . . . Usually, my mom's pretty good about making sure we all get what we need.

MITCHELL: I usually eat pretty good but sometimes I'll be at lunch at school and I'll go into the a la carte line.

(There's) nothing that I want so I just get a milkshake. I don't always eat great lunches.

WHO IS MOST CONCERNED

MARIA: I'm not a teen-ager yet, but it seems to me like some teen-agers, especially teen-age girls, sometimes are worried about their weight. They'll get one of those diseases where they have to throw up after every meal or they just refuse to eat. And that can make them really sick.

ELIZABETH: I think a lot of emphasis, especially for women, is put on how you look and all the supermodels. And if a woman sees a lot of guys going, "Oh, look at her. She looks really good." They're going to think, "Gee, maybe they'd like me if I did this and that." I think we need to put a little more emphasis on who you are and how you act rather than how you look.

JILL: I disagree that it's more women because I think it's more men. They feel that they have to look all strong and skinny for women and girls to like them.

ELIZABETH: I find that especially my brother, who's big on football, and a lot of his buddies are really careful about what they eat because they get big lectures from their coaches. . . . What the coach says is real important to them. If he says "Eat right," they will do that and go to bed at a certain time. And you'd be surprised at what they'll do.

PARENTAL INFLUENCE

JILL: My mom is really strict about healthy foods, so we have to have a vegetable, fruit and then a main entree for dinner. If we don't finish something then we can't have any dessert.

ELIZABETH: I think a lot of it depends on how much time you have to make dinner and stuff like that. Because if your parents are in a big hurry, sometimes they'll just throw something in the microwave, like macaroni and cheese or leftovers that might not be as good. But if we have time . . . my mom will have a dinner and we'll all have to sit down and eat it.

MARIA: Usually my mom is pretty casual about what we eat. She does make sure that we do have something healthy but lots of times for dinner it will be like "Find something you like and pop it in the microwave." . . . It's basically how she's feeling that day, whether she's kinda in the mood to create a fancy dinner or just casual.

MITCHELL: (My parents) don't really (affect my eating) except my dad. He really tries to get me to eat a lot of vegetables. I mean I like vegetables . . . but like he'll kinda give me hidden (information) like, "Did you know my cholesterol is lower than yours?" He's kind of a health freak.

FUTURE EATING HABITS

AMBER: I hope people will be eating a lot healthier. I do think people might be eating a little more junk food because of technology. They'll probably be coming out with new foods and new candy bars and stuff.

HANS: I think (there) might be a little bit less . . . fatty foods (than they have now). Because in 20 years, they'll emphasize more on healthy food and they might have some sort of law to take out some of the junk foods that (don't) give you very much nutritional value.

JILL: I think it depends on the technology that we get in the future and the people. We could come up with new healthier foods that taste really good.

MITCHELL: I think 20 years from now is going to be a lot different. I mean they'll say you can't have this much fat and it will kinda be like the Jetsons. Like, "OK, what do you want for breakfast?" They'll say, "Bacon and eggs." Then they'll bring out a little pill. It's pretty much going to be like that. You just take your vitamins and you're done eating for the day almost.

EDITED BY: Lisa Schubert, 14

(ZZCPYRT)