Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables!
Californians seem to be listening
Californians seem to be listening
Philadelphia, PA, 15 June 2011 – According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy People 2010 objectives, adequate fruit and vegetable consumption is a national public health priority for disease prevention and maintenance of good health. Not only do fruits and vegetables furnish valuable dietary nutrients, but they also contribute vital elements to chronic disease prevention for heart disease, hypertension, certain cancers, vision problems of aging, and possibly type 2 diabetes. With the nation’s health in mind, Network for a Healthy California is taking steps to prevent these problems by promoting fruit and vegetable consumption through a large-scale social marketing program funded in part by the United States Department of Agriculture Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; formally known as the Food Stamp Nutrition Education program) to provide nutrition education.
A study in the July/August 2011 supplement to the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior describes the 10- year trends for California adults’ fruit and vegetable consumption using surveillance data. Investigators from the Network for a Healthy California, California Department of Public Health and Public Health Institute surveyed 1,400-1,700 California residents per survey year starting in 1997, before the Network’s launch in spring 1998, and continuing biennially until the most current data from the 2007 survey. The survey tool used a single 24-hour dietary recall to assess intake.
Findings from this study reveal that over the course of 10 years; mean daily fruit and vegetable consumption rose from 3.8 servings to 5.2 servings. More profound, the number of California adults who reported eating greater or equal to 5 servings of fruit and vegetable on their 24-hour diet recall increased 57% over the past decade.
Interestingly, the increase in fruit and vegetable consumption was the greatest for the lowest and the highest income groups, nearly doubling the percentage that consumes > 5 fruit and vegetable per day, 1997-2007 in each group. Sharon Sugerman, Research Scientist for the Network for a Healthy California, states, “Examining fruit and vegetable trends by income demonstrates the importance of being able to survey all population groups, specifically the low-income population, but also the higher-income groups. Such data document the overall population-wide trends and allow comparisons between more- and less-advantaged groups.”
The article is “California Adults Increase Fruit and Vegetable Consumption From 1997-2007” by Sharon Sugerman, MS, RD, FADA; Susan B. Foerster, MPH, RD; Jennifer Gregson, MPH, PhD; Amanda Linares, MS; Mark Hudes, PhD. It appears in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Volume 43, Issue 4, Supplement 2 (July/August 2011) published by Elsevier.
In an accompanying podcast Sharon Sugerman, MS, RD, FADA, discusses the results and implications this study. It is available at www.jneb.org/content/podcast.
# # #
Notes for Editors
Full text of the article is available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact Francesca Costanzo at +1 email@example.com to obtain copies. To schedule an interview with the authors please contact Ms. Sharon Sugerman by email at Sharon.Sugerman@cdph.ca.gov or by phone at +1 (916) 449-5406.
An audio podcast featuring an interview with Sharon Sugerman, MS, RD, FADA (under embargo until June 15) and information specifically for journalists are located at www.jneb.org/content/mediapodcast. Excerpts from the podcast may be reproduced by the media; contact Francesca Costanzo to obtain permission.
About the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (www.jneb.org)
The Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (JNEB), the official journal of the Society for Nutrition Education (SNE), is a refereed, scientific periodical that serves as a resource for all professionals with an interest in nutrition education and dietary/physical activity behaviors. The purpose of JNEB is to document and disseminate original research, emerging issues, and practices relevant to nutrition education and behavior worldwide and to promote healthy, sustainable food choices. It supports the society’s efforts to disseminate innovative nutrition education strategies, and communicate information on food, nutrition, and health issues to students, professionals, policy makers, targeted audiences, and the public.
The Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior features articles that provide new insights and useful findings related to nutrition education research, practice, and policy. The content areas of JNEB reflect the diverse interests of health, nutrition, education, Cooperative Extension, and other professionals working in areas related to nutrition education and behavior. As the Society's official journal, JNEB also includes occasional policy statements, issue perspectives, and member communications.
Elsevier is a global information analytics business that helps institutions and professionals advance healthcare, open science and improve performance for the benefit of humanity. Elsevier provides digital solutions and tools in the areas of strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support and professional education, including ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, ClinicalKey and Sherpath. Elsevier publishes over 2,500 digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell, more than 38,000 e-book titles and many iconic reference works, including Gray's Anatomy. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics for professionals and business customers across industries. www.elsevier.com