Fruit and Vegetable Consumption - Age 65+ in Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults consume two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables daily. Diets high in fruits and vegetables can help lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke and prevent some types of cancer. According to multiple studies, poor diet is the biggest risk factor for mortality in the United States.

Adequate fruit and vegetable consumption can help prevent chronic disease among older adults, who are at higher risk of developing chronic conditions. Consuming whole fruits and vegetables daily can reduce the risk of physical disability, digestive disorders, hypertension and atherosclerosis in older adults. Additionally, high fruit and vegetable consumption helps protect against cognitive decline and is linked to higher quality of life, longer physical functioning and higher bone density among older adults. 

Barriers to regular consumption of fruits and vegetables include cost, lack of access to fresh produce, concerns of spoilage, perceived lack of preparation time and lack of cooking knowledge. Affordability and geographic scarcity can create conditions of limited access, particularly in low-income areas. In these communities, there are often fewer supermarkets, and smaller stores charge more for groceries while offering less healthy food. In 2023, households in the lowest income quartile spent an average of 32.6% of their income after taxes on food, while those in the highest-income quartile spent an average of 8.1%. 

The estimated annual cost of medical expenses and lowered productivity attributable to unhealthy diets in the U.S. is $1.1 trillion.

According to America’s Health Rankings analysis, the prevalence of fruit and vegetable consumption is higher among:

• Older women compared with older men.
• Older adults with a college degree compared with those who have less educational attainment.
• Older adults with an annual household income of $75,000 or more compared with those who have a lower income.
• Older adults living in metropolitan areas compared with those in nonmetropolitan areas.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers strategies to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables, including:

• Improving access to and availability of fruits and vegetables at local grocery stores. States with a higher density of healthy food retailers, farmers’ markets and acceptance of nutrition-assistance program benefits by farmers’ markets report higher consumption of fruits and vegetables.
• Encouraging farm-to-institution programs in schools, hospitals, workplaces and child care centers. 
• Expanding new and existing farmers’ markets for direct access to seasonal fruits and vegetables.
• Partnering with organizations that deliver produce or full meals to older adults, such as Meals on Wheels. Meal delivery programs have been shown to increase fruit and vegetable consumption for older adults in senior centers, and are recommended by the Community Preventive Services Task Force.

Cooking workshops with nutrition education can help equip older adults with the confidence and knowledge they need to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into their daily diet. The American Heart Association has tips for food preparation and simple meal modifications to make changing your diet less daunting and easier to maintain.

Healthy People 2030 has multiple objectives for nutrition and healthy eating, including increasing fruit consumption among people age two and older and increasing vegetable consumption among people age two and older.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2018 State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/downloads/fruits-vegetables/2018/2018-fruit-vegetable-report-508.pdf.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Strategies to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases: The CDC Guide to Strategies to Increase the Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/21639.

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Milajerdi, Alireza, Nasser Ebrahimi-Daryani, Levinus A. Dieleman, Bagher Larijani, and Ahmad Esmaillzadeh. “Association of Dietary Fiber, Fruit, and Vegetable Consumption with Risk of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Advances in Nutrition 12, no. 3 (May 2021): 735–43. https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmaa145.

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U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, January 2026. https://cdn.realfood.gov/DGA.pdf.

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