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We keep hearing that we live in a moment in time when health-conscious consumers are on the rise and natural products ar all the rage. But contrary to popular belief, a recent statistic put together by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has shown that most of us still don’t eat anywhere near the required amount of fruits and vegetables.
The overall results of the paper revealed that kids and teens aren’t the only ones who need persuasion when it comes to eating healthy greens. North America only has one in five (1 in 5) adults who meet the required amount of fruit consumption and vegetable consumption set by the government dietary suggestions.
Said government dietary suggestions dictate that people should consume between one and a half (1.5) and two (2) cups of fruit on any given day, and between two (2) and three (3) cups of vegetables on any given day. However, only a very small percentage of American adults can say that they follow this advice.
It’s important to note that consumption rate varies from one state to the other, but the overall results suggest that the country is in great need of a lifestyle change. On average, 87 percent (87%) of US adults don’t consume the required amount of fruit, and 91 percent (91%) of US adults don’t consume the required amount of vegetables.
Latetia V. Moore, lead author and PhD from the Centers for Disease Control’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, gave a statement informing that researchers have known for a while now that fruit and vegetable consumption has been on decline for the past several years.
What the researches have finally managed to do with this project is to develop a method that allowed them to look at each state individually. In order to reach their conclusion, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) experts examined the dietary habits of 373.000 US adults.
The state of California had the highest consumption rate when it came to both fruits and vegetables. Thirteen percent (13%) of the state’s residents eat an appropriate amount of vegetables per day, while 18 percent (18%) of the state’s residents eat an appropriate amount of fruit per day.
At the opposite extreme, only 6 percent (6%) of Mississippi residents eat an appropriate amount of vegetables per day, making it the state with the lowest intake of vegetables, while only 8 percent (8%) of Tennessee residents eat an appropriate amount of fruit per day, making it the state with the lowest intake of fruit.
PhD Moore shared that Americans need to change their dietary habits, and they need to do it fast. She said that fruits and vegetables of all types count, but that the government dietary suggestions advices people to consume whole fruit a lot more than they do fruit juice.
She stressed that these types of products provide the body with much needed nutrients and vitamins, and that their absence from one’s diet can lead to health issues such as certain cancers, obesity, heart disease or stroke.
American adults should also buy fruits and vegetables that are light on added sugars and solid fat, as well as increase their intake of dark green vegetables, orange vegetables and beans.
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