Only 10% of adults in the United States consume the recommended…

Only 10% of adults in the United States consume the recommended amount of vegetables.

According to a study published in the Jan. 7 edition of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, only 12.3% and 10% of U.S. adults reached the fruit and vegetable dietary requirements, respectively, in 2019.

The data from the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance system was used by Seung Hee Lee, PhD, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues to estimate the percentage of adults who met fruit and vegetable intake recommendations overall and by sociodemographic characteristics for 49 states and the District of Columbia.

The researchers discovered that 12.3 and 10.0 percent of individuals, respectively, fulfilled fruit and vegetable recommendations, with rates ranging from 8.4 to 16.1 percent in West Virginia and Connecticut and 5.6 to 16.0 percent in Kentucky and Vermont.

Men had the lowest prevalence of fulfilling fruit intake requirements, whereas Hispanic adults had the highest incidence (16.4 percent) (10.1 percent). Adults 51 years and older had the highest prevalence (12.5 percent) of fulfilling vegetable intake requirements, while those living in poverty or near poverty had the lowest prevalence (6.8 percent).

According to the authors, «States can utilize the data to drive their programs, communications and social marketing, and regulations to assist enhancing fruit and vegetable access and intake.»