Children in remote and regional Western Australia would be happy to eat their vegetables if shops stocked fresh produce at an affordable price, researchers say.
An Edith Cowan University study found only 13.4 per cent of rural children aged nine to 13 eat enough vegetables despite most parents knowing how to prepare a balanced meal.
Meanwhile, only 11.8 per cent of children surveyed said they didn't like the taste of vegetables.
Australian dietary guidelines recommend children aged nine to 11 eat five serves of vegetables a day to ingest the vitamins, minerals and fibre they need to help prevent future chronic diseases and maintain a healthy weight.
Researchers, led by nutritionist Stephanie Godrich, surveyed 256 regional children and their caregivers to find out if food supply, including availability, access and knowledge of meal preparation, affects the number of vegetables kids eat.
"We did suspect food supply was one of the key drivers but we were surprised in terms of the impact - children were 10 times more likely to eat an adequate amount of vegetables when there were more food outlets," Dr Godrich told AAP.
About 80 per cent of parents believe food is more expensive, and of lower quality, in their regional community.
Health promotions, such as the Eat 2 and 5 veg campaign, increased fresh vegetable consumption five-fold and three-fold for tinned or frozen vegetables.
"Frozen and no added salt tinned vegetables are cheaper than fresh vegetables but still provide children with nutrients," Dr Godrich said.
She said the study showed improvements to food supply were crucial.
"We want to see more done on building regional food supply, reducing the distance of the food supply chain and more focus on local governments supporting local producers and increasing availability."
While the regional figures may be surprising, national Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows only five per cent of children aged two to 18 ate the recommended daily intake of vegetables in 2014 to 2015.
