CDC: 30-year-old man should eat 5.5 cups of produce a day

ATLANTA, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. health officials developed a Fruit and Vegetable Calculator because people need different levels of produce based on gender, activity and age.

"To get the amount that's recommended, most people need to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables they currently eat every day," the CDC said in a statement.

The CDC calculator at: www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/fruitsvegetables/howmany.html asks people to: "Enter your age, sex, and level of physical activity below to find the amount that's right for you."

For example, the calculator said a 90-year-old woman should eat 1.5 cups of fruit and 2 cups of vegetables every day based on age, sex and level of physical activity of less than 30 minutes and 1,600 calories consumption a day.

However, a 30-year-old man who works out 30-60 minutes a day and eats 2,600 calories per day should eat 2 cups of fruit and 3.5 cups of vegetables every day, the calculator said.

"A growing body of research shows that fruits and vegetables are critical to promoting good health," the CDC said. "To get the amount that's recommended, most people need to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables they currently eat every day."

A serving of fruit is a small apple, a medium grapefruit or eight strawberries, while a vegetable serving is two stalks of celery or 1 cup of cooked greens such as spinach.