High Schoolers' paltry fruit, veggie consumption

A diet high in fruits and vegetables is associated with a decreased risk for many chronic diseases and some cancers, and can aid in weight management. Current daily fruit and vegetable recommendations for adolescents who participate in 30 minutes of physical activity daily are 1.5 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables for females and 2 cups of fruit and 3 cups of vegetables for males (1 cup is approximately equal to one medium apple, eight strawberries, 12 baby carrots, or one large tomato).

However, recently published data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003--2004 revealed that consumption was considerably below these levels. To assess fruit and vegetable consumption among high school students, CDC analyzed data from the 2010 National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study (NYPANS). This report describes the results of that analysis, which indicated that, in 2010, the median number of times per day that high school students consumed fruits and vegetables was 1.2 for both. For vegetables, the median number of times per day was lower for non-Hispanic black students and Hispanic students than non-Hispanic white students.

Overall, 28.5% of high school students consumed fruit 1 time daily, and 33.2% of high school students consumed vegetables 1 time daily. The infrequent fruit and vegetable consumption by high school students highlights the need for effective strategies to increase consumption. Policy and environmental approaches to provide greater access to and availability of fruits and vegetables are among the strategies that schools and communities might choose to achieve this goal.

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 11/25