CDC: Adults Not Eating Enough Fruits and Vegetables

American adults are not eating enough fruits and vegetables, according to a report from the CDC.

In order to measure adherence to national guidelines on fruit and vegetable consumption, researchers collected data from 373,580 adults from the 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System—and ongoing phone survey of adults in the United States.
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The survey asked participants questions about the types and quantities of fruits and vegetables they consumed, including categories like 100% fruit juice, whole fruit, beans, dark green vegetables, and orange vegetables.

They compared the participants’ answers to national recommendations that adults who exercise for less than 30 minutes a day should consume 1.5-2 cups of fruit and 2-3 cups of vegetables a day.

Overall, researchers found that only 13.1% and 8.9% of adults ate the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, respectively. Results varied widely on a state-by-state basis, with California at the top (17.7% fruit and 13% vegetables) and Tennessee (7.5% fruit) and Mississippi (5.5% vegetables) at the bottom.

Because of changes to the content included in the survey, it is not possible to compare these results to previous years.

"Substantial new efforts are needed to build consumer demand for fruits and vegetables through competitive pricing, placement and promotion in child care, schools, grocery stores, communities and worksites," they concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:
CDC. Adults meeting fruit and vegetable intake recommendations — United States, 2013. MMWR. 2015;64(26):709-713.