A new study suggests that not all Americans are getting their recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables to stay healthy. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 10 percent of Americans, or 1 in 10, are adding enough fruits and veggies to their diets.
The official guidelines recommend 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit and up to 3 cups of veggies per day. For example, one large banana or a grapefruit is the equivalent of one cup. One sweet potato or a dozen baby carrots accounts for one cup of vegetables.
CDC researchers found that just 9.3 percent of Americans eat enough veggies and 12.2 percent have enough fruit on their plates. The analysis also includes a comparison on a state-by-state basis. West Virginia has the lowest consumption of fruit (7.3 percent), with Washington D.C. eating the most fruits (12%). Alaska has the largest consumption of vegetables (12%), with West Virginia being at the low end.
Texas is eating relatively healthy with 12.1% when it comes to fruits, and 10.9% when it comes to veggies, and so are Florida and New York with 14% and 10.3%, 14% and 9.6% respectively.
Women Tend to Eat more Fruits and Veggies than Men
The study also revealed that Hispanics tend to have enough fruits (15.7%) and veggies (10.5%) in their diets while Whites eat the fewest fruits and blacks the fewest vegetables.
Americans aged 31 to 50 tend to consume enough fruit with 13.8% saying they eat enough fruit per day. When it comes to veggies, those in their fifties and older tend to consume the most vegetables (10.9%) Americans aged 18 to 30 tend to eat the fewest fruit and veggies, with 9.2% and 8.8 percent respectively.
The analysis also revealed that women tend to eat healthier than men by a large margin: 15.1% versus 9.2% when it comes to fruits, and 10.9% versus 7.6% when it comes to veggies.
As a side note, the US Department of Agriculture found that Americans are consuming slightly more fruit and veggies than they did five decades ago.
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