It seems that one too few people are heeding the warnings of their parents to eat their collard greens. A new study shows that still, Americans aren’t eating their vegetables and fruits, at least, not as much as they should be.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that the recommended vegetable and fruit intake per day for adults should be two-three cups of the former, and one cup and a half of the latter. Obviously, as pointed out by their weekly report on Morbidity and Mortality, an overwhelming majority of Americans are not achieving said intake.
The nation-wide results for the survey, which was conducted back in 2013, were published June 10th, on the CDC website. The percentage of Americans getting their recommended fruits is just 13.1, while only 8.9 percent eat enough vegetables as they should.
The results, however worrying in general, are pretty different when it comes to individual states. California for example, should take a bit of pride in it being the big winner. The west coast state is, in fact, topping both lists. Therefore, 17.7 percent of Californians are eating enough fruits as they should, while 13 percent of the people ate enough veggies. At the bottom end, the people from Tennessee and West Virginia did not eat fruit that much – 7.5 percent in the first, and 7.7 in the latter – while vegetable intake was lowest in Mississippi, Oklahoma, and again Tennessee – from 5.5, to 5.8, and 6.2 percent.
Remember that these statistics are based on a survey taken two years ago, via telephone, on a group of hundreds of thousands of people from all over the U.S.
Letitia Moore, the lead author, suggests that the numbers still disappoint in how low there are, and in the fact that there has not been a significant increase compared to earlier studies. Yet, although these results are not ok, there are some good parts showcased by this survey.
Apparently, most children did consume both fruits and vegetables daily, the percentage for kids between 2 and 5 going up to 90% for fruits. Yet that number steadily declines as the children grow older. Of every ten teenagers, only six eat fruits daily.
When it comes to vegetables, the numbers are equally satisfying, as of kids between two and eleven years of age, 93 percent eat vegetables every day. Still, teens ate a bit less – for ages 12-19, 90 percent ate veggies daily.
The results are not something to be proud of as a nation, and the CDC is prompting for a more widespread talk about the benefits of healthy diets and is encouraging workplaces to give free fruits to their employees as this should, theoretically, not only increase short-term productivity, but assure good health for everyone.
Image source: cbslocal.com
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