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Americans
still not eating enough fruits and vegetables,
according to two recent studies
"Eat your
vegetables" has been heard at the dinner tables of America for a
long time. Has the message gotten through?
Since 1990
the Dietary Guidelines for Americans has recommended consuming at
least two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables daily.
However, two studies published in the April issue of the American
Journal of Preventive Medicine clearly show that Americans are not
meeting the mark.
This is a
serious public health concern because consuming a diet high in
fruits and vegetables is associated with decreased risk of obesity
and certain chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease,
diabetes and some cancers.
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and the
Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research in
Baltimore analyzed NHANES data (National Health and Nutrition
Examination Surveys) to determine trends over time for fruit and
vegetable consumption among American adults.
The answers are not encouraging. Despite campaigns
and slogans, Americans have not increased their
consumption, with 28% and 32% meeting USDA
guidelines for fruits and vegetables, respectively,
and less than 11% meeting the current USDA
guidelines for both fruits and vegetables.
The study
included 14,997 adults (¡Ý18 years) from 1988 to 1994 and 8,910
adults from 1999 to 2002 with complete demographic and dietary data.
Approximately 62% did not consume any whole fruit servings and 25%
of participants reported eating no daily vegetable servings.
There was
no improvement in Americans¡¯ fruit consumption during this period
and there was a small decrease in vegetable intake.
In the
article, Tiffany Gary, PhD, states, "Low fruit and vegetable
consumption with no indication of improvement between 1988 and 2002
as well as consumption disparities across ethnic, income, and
educational groups should alarm public health officials and
professionals.
With two
thirds of the U.S. adult population overweight or obese, the
implications of a diet low in fruits and vegetables are
extensive¡New strategies, in addition to the 5-A-Day Campaign, are
necessary to help Americans make desirable behavioral changes to
consume a healthy diet that includes a variety of fruits and
vegetables."
Previous
studies have shown a disparity in the diets of blacks and whites, as
well as a more serious disparity in the incidence of heart disease,
cancer and stroke. A second article published in the April issue of
the American Journal of Preventive Medicine examined whether the
diets of non-Hispanic blacks have improved relative to the diets of
whites.
Also
working with the data from the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Surveys (NHANES) I (1971¨C75); II (1976¨C1980); III
(1988¨C1994); 1999¨C2000; and 2001¨C2002, researchers found that
little progress has been made in closing the gap between blacks and
whites. In fact, the authors point out that the results are
remarkable for similarity of trajectories in all race¨Cgender
groups.
The
quantity of food, total energy intake, energy from carbohydrate, and
energy density increased, and energy from total and saturated fat
and cholesterol intake decreased across the board.
These
results suggest a population-wide shift in intake of energy and
macronutrients over the 3-decade span of the four surveys and may
reflect changes in diet that were adopted by all race¨Cgender
groups.
Dr. Ashima
Kant, PhD, Queens College of the City University of New York,
concludes, "Dietary intake trends in blacks and whites over the past
several decades appear to be similar¡ªsuggesting that previously
identified dietary risk factors that differentially affect black
Americans have not improved in a relative sense.
The
differences observed need to be confirmed with biomarkers, but would
seem sufficiently strong to warrant intensified study and action to
better understand the sociocultural or environmental factors that
anchor these persistent differentials and identify approaches to
effect change while building on strengths of current dietary
patterns where possible."
Emphasizing the need to encourage proper diet, Linda C Nebeling,
PhD, MD, RD, FADA, of the National Cancer Institute, NIH, states in
a commentary in the same issue, "The majority of U.S. adults
continue to consume fewer than five servings of fruits and
vegetables daily. Increases in public awareness of the importance of
and recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption are yet to
be accompanied by increased intake, demonstrating the need for a
reinvigorated effort to promote fruit and vegetable consumption.
On March
19, 2007 ¡®Fruits & Veggies¡ªMore Matters¡¯ will be launched. This
effort will build on the strong public-private partnership begun in
1991 by the 5-A-Day for Better Health Program." |
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