Fruit and Vegetable Consumption - Women in Maine

Maine

Diets high in fruits and vegetables reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease and stroke. Consuming fruits and vegetables three or more times daily is associated with a lower overall mortality risk. Roughly half of all adults in the United States suffer from one or more preventable chronic diseases related to poor diet and physical inactivity. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in collaboration, recommends that adults consume two cups of fruits and two and a half cups of vegetables per day for a 2000-calorie diet. 

Consuming vegetables and fruits during pregnancy may help women get essential nutrients such as vitamin A, potassium and folic acid.

Barriers to regular consumption of fruits and vegetables include cost, perceived lack of preparation time, cooking knowledge and access to fresh produce. In addition, some Americans live in areas known as food deserts, where access to healthy foods is limited.

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

• Women ages 35-44 compared with those ages 18-24.
• Women with an annual household income of $75,000 or more compared with women with an annual income between $50,000 and $74,999.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers strategies for states and communities to improve access to fruits and vegetables, including:

• Adopting policies to ensure access to fruits and vegetables in workplace cafeterias. 
• Encouraging farm-to-institution programs in schools, hospitals, workplaces and childcare centers. 
• Improving access to stores and markets that sell fruits and vegetables. States with a higher density of healthy food retailers, farmers markets and particularly farmers markets that accept nutrition-assistance program benefits report higher consumption of fruits and vegetables. 

Funding is available from the USDA for projects that establish healthy retail outlets or otherwise improve food access in underserved areas. The USDA provides an interactive tool to identify low-income and low-access areas at the census tract level and resources for improving one's diet.

Healthy People 2030 has multiple objectives on nutrition and healthy eating, including:

• Increasing fruit consumption among people ages two and older. 
• Increasing vegetable consumption among people ages two and older.

Bazzano, Lydia A., Jiang He, Lorraine G. Ogden, Catherine M. Loria, Suma Vupputuri, Leann Myers, and Paul K. Whelton. 2002. “Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in US Adults: The First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 76 (1): 93–99. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/76.1.93.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2011. “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. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/21639.

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

Dutko, Paula, Michele Ver Ploeg, and Tracey Farrigan. 2012. “Characteristics and Influential Factors of Food Deserts.” ERR-140. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/45014/30940_err140.pdf.

Lee-Kwan, Seung Hee, Latetia V. Moore, Heidi M. Blanck, Diane M. Harris, and Deb Galuska. 2017. “Disparities in State-Specific Adult Fruit and Vegetable Consumption — United States, 2015.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 66 (45): 1241–47. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6645a1.

Singleton, Chelsea R., Sydney Fouché, Rucha Deshpande, Angela Odoms-Young, Corey Chatman, and Connie Spreen. 2018. “Barriers to Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Farmers’ Market Incentive Programme Users in Illinois, USA.” Public Health Nutrition 21 (7): 1345–49. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980018000101.

U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2020. “Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.” 9th edition. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans_2020-2025.pdf.

Yeh, Ming-Chin, Scott B. Ickes, Lisa M. Lowenstein, Kerem Shuval, Alice S. Ammerman, Rosanne Farris, and David L. Katz. 2008. “Understanding Barriers and Facilitators of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among a Diverse Multi-Ethnic Population in the USA.” Health Promotion International 23 (1): 42–51. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dam044.