State-specific trends in fruit and vegetable consumption among adults --- United States, 2000-2009

A diet high in fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk for many leading causes of death and can play an important role in weight management. Healthy People 2010 objectives for fruits and vegetables include targets of increasing to 75% the proportion of persons aged ≥2 years who consume two or more servings of fruit daily and to 50% those who consume three or more servings of vegetables daily. To assess states' progress over the past decade in meeting these targets among adults and to provide an update of the 2005 subgroup estimates, CDC analyzed data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). This report describes the results of that analysis, which indicated that, in 2009, an estimated 32.5% of adults consumed fruit two or more times per day and 26.3% consumed vegetables three or more times per day, far short of the national targets. Overall, the proportion of adults who met the fruit target declined slightly, but significantly, from 34.4% in 2000 to 32.5% in 2009; no significant change was observed in meeting the vegetable target. No state met either target, and substantial variability occurred among states. Only one state had statistically significant increases in the percentages of adults meeting each target. These findings underscore the need for interventions at national, state, and community levels, across multiple settings (e.g., worksites, community venues, and restaurants) to improve fruit and vegetable access, availability, and affordability, as a means of increasing individual consumption.