ATLANTA, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Most U.S. adults do not "Strive for Five" servings of fruit and vegetables a day as recommended, federal health officials say.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, released Thursday, finds despite efforts to improve healthy eating, there has been a 2 percent nationwide decrease during the last decade in meeting the fruit consumption objective and there has been no change in the vegetable consumption objective.
Healthy People 2010 fruit and vegetable objectives aimed for 75 percent of Americans to eat at least two servings of fruit daily and 50 percent to eat at least three servings of vegetables daily.
However, the CDC report says in 2009, 67.5 percent of U.S. adults ate less than two servings of fruit daily and 73.7 percent ate less than three servings of vegetables daily.
None of the 50 states met these objectives. Only one state increased both fruit and vegetable consumption, while 10 states decreased in produce consumption.
A diet high in fruits and vegetables helps in weight management and reduces the risk of several leading causes of death including heart disease, some cancers, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases and diabetes, federal health officials say.
