Americans not eating enough fruits, veggies

"Americans not eating enough fruits, veggies", Reuters, September 4,
2006,
Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060904/...cans_eating_dc

The U.S. government recently bumped up its recommendations for fruit
and vegetable consumption, and a new study suggests it's very likely
Americans aren't keeping up.

The United States Department of Agriculture had long recommended that
everyone get at least five servings of fruits and veggies daily, but
adjusted that requirement to 2 to 6-1/2 cups of fruits and vegetables
daily in its new MyPyramid food guide, Dr. Patricia Guenther of the
USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion and colleagues note.

The guidelines specify recommended intake by age and sex, and spell out
the variety of vegetables people should eat.

To investigate how many people were meeting the new standards -- and
the old ones -- Guenther and her team looked at single-day food intake
data for 8,070 people participating in the 1999-2000 National Health
and Nutrition Examination Survey.

They found just 40 percent were meeting then-current recommendations to
eat five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Girls aged 4 to 8 had
the lowest intake, with just 10 percent meeting the requirements, while
men aged 51 to 70 had the highest, with 60 percent eating at least five
fruit and veggie servings daily.

The percentage of people meeting the new MyPyramid requirements ranged
from 0.7 percent of boys aged 14 to 18, who are recommended to eat five
cups of fruit and veggies daily, to 48 percent of children aged 2 to 3,
whose recommendation is two cups.

"Nutrition and other health care professionals must help consumers
realize that for everyone over age 3 years, the new recommendations for
fruit and vegetable intakes are greater, and in many cases much
greater, than the familiar five servings a day," Guenther and her
colleagues conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Dietetic Association

A gross understatement.

"Roman Bystrianyk" wrote in message
ps.com...
"Americans not eating enough fruits, veggies", Reuters, September 4,
2006,
Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060904/...cans_eating_dc

The U.S. government recently bumped up its recommendations for fruit
and vegetable consumption, and a new study suggests it's very likely
Americans aren't keeping up.

The United States Department of Agriculture had long recommended that
everyone get at least five servings of fruits and veggies daily, but
adjusted that requirement to 2 to 6-1/2 cups of fruits and vegetables
daily in its new MyPyramid food guide, Dr. Patricia Guenther of the
USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion and colleagues note.

The guidelines specify recommended intake by age and sex, and spell out
the variety of vegetables people should eat.

To investigate how many people were meeting the new standards -- and
the old ones -- Guenther and her team looked at single-day food intake
data for 8,070 people participating in the 1999-2000 National Health
and Nutrition Examination Survey.

They found just 40 percent were meeting then-current recommendations to
eat five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Girls aged 4 to 8 had
the lowest intake, with just 10 percent meeting the requirements, while
men aged 51 to 70 had the highest, with 60 percent eating at least five
fruit and veggie servings daily.

The percentage of people meeting the new MyPyramid requirements ranged
from 0.7 percent of boys aged 14 to 18, who are recommended to eat five
cups of fruit and veggies daily, to 48 percent of children aged 2 to 3,
whose recommendation is two cups.

"Nutrition and other health care professionals must help consumers
realize that for everyone over age 3 years, the new recommendations for
fruit and vegetable intakes are greater, and in many cases much
greater, than the familiar five servings a day," Guenther and her
colleagues conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Dietetic Association