A boy eats a hot dog
A boy eats a hot dog after a baseball practice at the "23 de Enero" neighborhood in Caracas March 1, 2011. Boys as young as five years old are training in Venezuela's Little Leagues. Some of them live in the city's slums or poorer neighborhoods and think baseball could be a ticket to a different life. Being a major league baseball player is the dream of thousands of children, but in Venezuela it is also a chance for a brighter future. In 2010 a record 58 Venezuelans played in Major League Baseball in the United States, making up more than a quarter of all the players born outside the U.S. Between 1939 and 2010 a total of 258 Venezuelans have gone on to play in major league teams in the United States. Picture taken March 1, 2011. REUTERS/Jorge Silva (VENEZUELA - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL SOCIETY FOOD) Reuters

A new study by University of British Columbia published in the Public Health Nutrition journal has found that children's healthy appetite depends on the level of education of their parents. The study states that children of college-educated parents eat healthier, picking vegetables over sugar-rich and junk food.

The University of British Columbia study also shows that children have lesser opportunity to eat healthier at school. The study is the first of its kind that relates the financial and educational status of the parents to their child's diet.

Pointing toward the study, co-author Jennifer Black said the reason for this can be futher speculated on. Black is a food, nutrition and health professor in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems.

The study analysed 1,000 students from Vancouver public schools. The students were asked to state the type of food they eat in school and while travelling to and from school. The kids surveyed were between grades 5 to 8. The study revealed that less than half ate healthy foods, 20 percent had snacks packed, 17 percent had junk for lunch and 31 percent had sugary drinks. Sadly, the study also found that 15 percent went without food and stayed hungry.

Surprisingly, the results of the study revealed that students whose parents graduated from college were 67 percent less probable to consume sugary drinks. Black stated in Science Daily that the reason for this could be their socio-economic backgrounds. Vegetables are expensive, and in families where they cannot afford to pack such food, high calorie sugary foods is what gets packed for lunch, Black stated.

Also, students whose parents completed secondary education consumed 85 percent more vegetables than those whose parents did not complete secondary school. The study also found that irrespective of their financial or social status, the students preferred french fries and chips for snacks over low-fat milk, resulting in insufficent whole grains consumption.

In the report, Black further revealed that children who come from low income families are struggling to give their children a wholesome, healthy meal at school. Co-author Naseam Ahmadi, a M.Sc. graduate in human nutrition, said that the study shows the kids' eating patterns and the type of food they consume. "Overall, things aren't looking so good. More work is needed to address the dietary needs of children when they go off to school," said Ahmadi.