WILMINGTON, Del.—The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the “State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009” report that summarizes data for fruit and vegetable consumption from multiple sources and, for the first time, breaks the results down by state. It also discusses policies and environmental supports that can make it easier for everyone to eat more fruits and vegetables.
The report reveals that all 50 states fall short of national objectives for consumption of fruits and vegetables, which aim for 75 percent of Americans to eat at least two servings of fruit, and for 50 percent of Americans to eat at least three servings of vegetables daily.
Nationally, CDC supported state surveys indicate that only 33 percent of adults are meeting the recommendation for fruit consumption and 27 percent are meeting the vegetable recommendation. On average, only 14 percent of American adults consume at least two servings of fruit and at least three servings of vegetables each day. The statistics are even worse for high school students—32 percent report eating at least two fruit servings daily, and 13 percent say they eat at least three vegetable servings each day. On average, only 9.5 percent of American adolescents consume at least two servings of fruit and at least three servings of vegetables each day.