CDC: Americans Not Getting Enough Fruits and Veggies

A new report, release by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suggests that less than one-third of Americans are getting the recommended daily allowances of fruits and vegetables.

According to the CDC, a diet high in fruits and vegetables is associated with a decreased risk of chronic diseases. Also, since fruits and vegetables have low energy density (few calories relative to volume), eating them as part of a reduced-calorie diet can be beneficial for weight management.

In January 2000, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) launched Healthy People 2010, a national health promotion and disease prevention agenda. According to the CDC, objectives of this initiative include increasing the number of people who are two years of age and older who eat at least two daily servings of fruit by 75 percent, and increasing the number of people who are two years of age or older and eat at least three daily servings of vegetables by 50 percent.

To assess the level of fruit and vegetable consumption among adults by state and demographic characteristics, data from the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) were analyzed. Results indicated that about 32 percent of adults consumed two or more servings of fruit per day and about 27 percent ate three or more servings of vegetables per day.

The CDC concluded that there is a need for continued interventions that encourage greater fruit and vegetable consumption among U.S. adults. The CDC recently launched a new Web site, FruitsandVeggiesMatter.gov. This new site includes a calculator that determines how many fruits and vegetables an individual needs, based on age, gender and level of physical activity.

Comments

[thrasher543]

As Simone French noted in her study,'Pricing effects on food choices', "Fat and sugar provide dietary energy at very low cost. Food pricing and marketing practices are therefore an essential component of the eating environment."

(French, S. A. (2003) Pricing effects on food choices. J. Nutr. 133 (suppl): 841S–843S.

The issue of diet is not going to be solved by "calculators" telling people how many servings of fruit they need to eat. The move to healthy diet choices can only happen when Healthy Meals are LESS expensive than "Happy Meals" for working families.

[Jason]

Would increased consumption of fruits & vegetables reduce risk of certain cancers?

[Nick]

The south beach diet requires you to not eat fruits in the first 2 weeks in an effort to loose a lot of weight right away before introducing fruits and carbs back into the diet. How much of a health risk is this? Can loosing out on all of those vitamins and minerals and other nutrients really be good for you?

[Jen]

Vitamin A has shown to be beneficial for cancer patients. The prescription drug All-Trans-Retinoic Acid (ATRA, Vesanoid®) is a vitamin A derivative that is an established treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia. This drug has shown to improve average survival time for leukemia patients.

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, which is derived from two sources - preformed retinoids and provitamin carotenoids. Retinoids such as retinal, retinal, and retinoic acid are found in animal sources like liver, kidney, eggs, and dairy produce. Carotenoids like beta-carotene (which has the highest vitamin A activity) are found in plants such as dark or yellow vegetables and carrots.

[Anonymous]

I would agree that Americans need to increase their intake of fruits and veggies. The only thing to look out for is when selecting the type of fruits, watch out for high glycemic index fruits. I heard that watermelon has one of the highest glycemic indexes, and for those out there who have diabetes, it would be better to eat an apple versus slices of watermelons. As you may all know, the apple is good because it provides both insoluble, as well as soluble fiber, all in one fruit.

[Rachelle Provost]

I can see how this is true. I'm a lactose-intolerant vegetarian, I love fruits and veggies, and yet even without meat/dairy, I don't think I get enough fruits and veggies...and I am very health conscious. I think part of the reason why Americans don't get enough is because we don't consume much "fresh" food in general- everything is packaged and even though fruits and veggies come frozen, they aren't very appealing that way. I think we need to move back towards all fresh foods- fresh meat, fresh fish, fresh fruits, veggies, tofu, (etc.). Too bad we're too "efficient" to do this...

[Cultural relativism]

Considering the stuff they serve to kids in school lunches, it makes sense that most Americans don't eat what they should.

Another problem I've seen is that the parents or guardians will eat junk for dinner, while they make something more healthy for the kids. That just isn't being a good role model.

[Woods]

I agree with the first person's comment. Although eating healthy is much better for your body, it's more expensive to maintain a nutritional diet. It's much cheaper and quicker for individuals to buy a meal at a fast food restaurant.

I think in the long-term though, eating healthy is actually cost effective because it has shown to help prevent illnesses like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. These illnesses are expensive to treat. So, by investing a little more time and money in food choices today, you save money in the long run.

[D. Meyer]

Interesting points about the cost of nutritional foods versus healthy food, but I don’t buy it. Dinner for two parents and two kids at McDonald's these days can easily cost $20, which could easily buy a crown of broccoli, a couple of plum tomatoes, and a reasonably sized serving of lean meat or tofu burgers at the grocery store. For dessert? How about some apples slices with peanut butter? We are fooled by the notions that fast food is cheap and that we have to spend a fortune on good food. If we practice portion control, stem our passion for junk food and shop wisely, we can save money AND vastly improve our health.

[Lee]

I think they should make fruit on a stick. That would sell like crazy in America. People like things individually wrapped and on a stick: corn dogs, ice cream, etc. Why not make a healthy snack easy to eat! I hate eating an apple and getting the skin stuck in between my front teeth!

[Emily P.]

Although D. Meyer has a point about the costs of healthy food vs. fast food, I think there are still a lot of things that need to be considered. Many packaged foods are not only cheaper, but also last much longer than fresher, healthier foods. How many times do you go to the grocery store only to throw away half of the fruits and vegetables you bought because they spoiled before you could eat them? In addition, it takes much more time to prepare a balanced meal than to stop by a drive-thru or defrost a frozen pizza. Overall, it is much cheaper and convenient to eat unhealthy, which, in my opinion, is a big contributor in the harmful diets of most people.

[MV]

It is surprising to see how low the percentages are for people who eat fruits and vegetables. I think many people feel that time and lack of options makes it difficult to incorporate them into their diets. For example, fast food choices do not include many healthy items, or sometimes, they are more expensive. People will have to make a real efforts to change their eating habits or else it will cause many irreversible problems for them in the future.

[Paul]

There are so many problems with fruits and vegetables for the common consumer, and I fear the problems are only going to escalate. If you cook vegetables wrong, they can come out really horrible. They also have a reputation for tasting bad. I like most vegetables, but overcooked spinach isn't something I look forward to (and I love spinach). With people not eating as many vegetables, who is going to help teach how to cook and prepare them? I know a lot of people that would have no idea what to do with an artichoke, and that is really a shame.

[Anonymous]

How many more fruits and vegetables do vegetarians need to eat compare to non-vegetarians? I am vegetarian myself, and I am horrible at eating fruits and vegetables. I am trying to improve my eating habits, but most of us would prefer to buy frozen foods and/or canned fruits rather than coming home to cook a fresh meal every day. I know it is easier to buy canned fruits and vegetables, but do we really know what is ACTUALLY in those cans? I guess we need to make time to prepare fresh foods on a daily basis. If we make time to go to work and exercise, why not spend more time to cook healthy as well?