Few U.S. adults meet fruit, vegetable intake guidelines

“Fruit and vegetable intake has been persistently low for years but we just recently developed a way to look at how each state is doing” in terms of meeting recommendations, said lead author Latetia V. Moore of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the CDC. Moore and her coauthors analyzed the most recent Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, using a new scoring procedure to compare state-reported numbers, which are usually expressed as “frequency of intake,” to federal requirements, normally counted in “cups per day.” Overall, in 2013, half of respondents consumed fruit less than once per day and vegetables less than 1.7 times per day. Researchers compared their responses to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommend that adults who get less than 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day should eat 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit and two to three cups of vegetables daily.