Sweet Potato Facts for Kids

A Picture of Cut Sweet Potatoes
  • Name: Sweet Potato, Sweetpotato
  • Type of Food: Vegetable
  • Produced From: Ipomoea batatas
  • Total Calories: 112 (one 5″ sweet potato, 130 grams)
  • Total Fat: None (one 5″ sweet potato, 130 grams)
  • Total Protein: 2 grams (one 5″ sweet potato, 130 grams)
  • Total Carbohydrates: 26 grams (one 5″ sweet potato, 130 grams)

27 Sweet Potato Facts for Kids

  1. Sweet potatoes are a root vegetable cultivated and consumed by humans worldwide.
  2. Sweet potatoes are not actually a potato.
  3. Potatoes are tubers of a plant, while sweet potatoes are the root of a plant.
  4. Sweet potatoes are the roots of the sweetpotato plant (Ipomoea batatas) and its other varieties.
  5. The skin color of a sweet potato can be beige, orange, pink, purple, red, violet, white and yellow.
  6. Sweet potatoes with red, pink and orange skin are sweeter and moister than those with pale, yellow or white skin.
  7. The earliest records of humans growing sweet potatoes is at least 5,000 years old in Central America.
  8. Sweet potatoes originated and were domesticated either in Central America or South America.
  9. According to FAOSTAT, the world produced over 101 million tons of sweet potatoes in 2018.
  10. According to FAOSTAT, the largest producer of sweet potatoes in 2018 was China with over 58 million tons.
  11. Based on FAOSTAT data, China produced over 57% of the world’s sweet potato supply in 2018.
  12. Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of beta-carotene, complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber.
  13. Sweet potatoes have more nutrients than any other vegetable.
  14. Sweet potatoes are best consumed either baked, boiled, fried, roasted or steamed.
  15. One five inch sweet potato (130 grams) contains 112 calories.
  16. One five inch sweet potato (130 grams) contains no fat.
  17. One five inch sweet potato (130 grams) contains no cholesterol.
  18. One five inch sweet potato (130 grams) contains 72 milligrams of sodium.
  19. One five inch sweet potato (130 grams) contains 26 grams of carbohydrates.
  20. One five inch sweet potato (130 grams) contains 4 grams of dietary fiber.
  21. One five inch sweet potato (130 grams) contains 5 grams of sugar.
  22. One five inch sweet potato (130 grams) contains 2 grams of protein.
  23. One five inch sweet potato (130 grams) contains 39 milligrams of calcium.
  24. One five inch sweet potato (130 grams) contains 1 gram of iron.
  25. One five inch sweet potato (130 grams) contains 437 milligrams of potassium.
  26. Sweet potatoes are a common dish severed during Thanksgiving dinners in the United States of America.
  27. According to the Guinness World Records, the heaviest sweet potato ever harvested weighed 81 pounds and 9 ounces. This record was on March 8th, 2004 by Manuel Pérez Pérez in Spain.

Additional Resources on Sweet Potatoes

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