CORVALLIS, Ore., Aug. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. college students aren't eating enough fruits and vegetables, and many don't eat any produce daily, researchers say.
Study author Brad Cardinal, a professor of exercise and sport science at Oregon State University, and colleagues surveyed the eating habits of 582 college students and found students were not "striving for five" servings of fruit and vegetables a day as recommended, most didn't even strive for five a week.
The study, published online in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, found male students had about five servings of fruit and vegetables a week and female students self-reported eating about four servings of fruits and vegetables a week.
"We found that students skipped meals fairly frequently, which could account for some of the lack of fruits and veggies," Cardinal says in a statement. "Still, even accounting for fewer meals consumed, the students were on average not always eating even one serving of fruits or vegetables per day, far below the U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines."
The study finds both men and women students consume more than 30 percent of their calories from fat, which exceeds the American Dietetic Association's recommendation of no more than 30 percent a week.
