American diet low on fruits and vegetables
Despite repeated entreaties from health officials, the standard diet menu of an American continues to be low on vegetables and fruits, a new report has suggested.
A decade after the U.S. government set goals for the amount of fruit and vegetables that each American should consume, new research suggests that a vast majority of people are not even close to reaching those numbers, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"Over the last decade, we have looked at behavioral intervention like counseling to get people to include fruits and vegetables in their diet. In this decade, we plan to work on making the healthy choice, the easy choice, says Dr. Jennifer Foltz, a researcher at the CDC's National Center of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
Dr. Foltz, who co-authored a report on diet habits of the Americans, says the new programs would include promoting gardening, farmer's markets and including fruits and vegetables into schools and workplaces.
The report, published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality weekly report, quotes Dr. Foltz as saying that the administration's efforts will be targeted at ensuring access to fresh fruits and vegetables at affordable prices to the low-income Americans. As part of these programs, retailers will be given tax incentives to enhance the availability of fruits and vegetables.
The researchers, who analyzed eating patterns across all states of America, found a two percent decline in fruit consumption in the last decade with no significant change in the amount of vegetables consumed across the whole of the U.S.
While no state managed to meet the Healthy People 2010 goals, only the state of Idaho showed a rise in the fruit and vegetable consumption, the report says while reiterating the importance of a diet rich in fruit and vegetables as an important part of controlling weight and reducing heart disease risks.