EAT YOUR VEGETABLES

One quarter of American schoolchildren do not regularly eat fruit or vegetables or brush their teeth, according to a new national survey. The American Health Foundation, a private New York-based research organization, and Scholastic Inc., a publisher, released results of a questionnaire distributed to 3,112 primary school children at a conference sponsored by the American Cancer Society. "These statistics knock you out of your chair," commented Dr. Edward J. Sondik, acting director of the National Cancer Institute.TIME medical writer Christine Gormansays health professionals have long worried about children's health habits, especially because of the implications for later life: "Eating fruits and vegetables is one of the things people can do to reduce cancer."