9 in 10 high schoolers short on fruits, veggies
9 in 10 high schoolers short on fruits, veggies
Less than 10 percent of U.S. high school students are eating the combined recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables, a finding that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called "poor" in a report Tuesday.
The report based on 2007 data found that only 13 percent of U.S. high school students get at least three servings of vegetables a day and just 32 percent get two servings of fruit. Less than 1 in 10 get enough of both combined.
Some states — including Arkansas and North Carolina — were significantly below those averages. But some New England states, particularly Vermont, were notably better.
The CDC said the report was the first to give such detailed information on adolescents' fruit and vegetable consumption. The information comes from a national survey of about 100,000 high school students in 2007. CDC officials said the findings indicate a disheartening gap between how people should be eating and what they're actually doing in an era of rampant obesity.
Federal nutrition goals for 2010 call for at least 75 percent of Americans to eat two servings of fruit each day and at least 50 percent to eat three vegetable servings.
"This is a call for states, communities, schools and families to support increased fruit and vegetable consumption," said Heidi Blanck, a CDC senior scientist who worked on the report.
The CDC also released data on a survey of adults. It found fruit and vegetable consumption was basically unchanged from when a similar survey was done in 2005: About 27 percent got at least three servings of vegetables a day, and 33 percent got two servings of fruit.
People who participated in the survey were asked, essentially, how many times a day they had fruit or vegetables. Fruit juice counted but pieces of fruit are considered preferable, because they're more filling alternatives to fatty, processed snacks, Blanck said.
Vermont and other states that had higher rates of fruit and vegetable consumption also have more farmers markets per 100,000 people than the national average. And schools in those states were more likely to stock pieces of fruit in vending machines or at snack shops, Blanck said.
The report did not have numbers for every state. For twelve of them, high schooler survey samples were not considered large enough to provide a statistically reliable number.
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- Posted on September 29, 2009
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The student that are in school should get fruits in their diet.
I think that everybody not just the students should get fruit in their diet.
Some students don't eat fruit at all.
I think that the people that don't eat fruit should be given fruits.
I think that if people eat fruit then it will be a better place.
It's crazy that 9 out of 10 schools are low on fruit and veggies,it's crazy because fruits and veggies are good for you, but maybe kids aren't getting the fruits and veggies that they should be getting.
wow 9 out of 10 school are low on fruits, veggies that is crazy because they are good for u.but maybe kid are not geting the amount of they should be geting.
I love my fruits and veggie. They keep me going through the school day! They are so yummy and delicious. I expectly love strawberries and green beans.
Wow that is not good because now not of kid get a lot of good food in their body.That is not good but why would kid do that.It like they cant eat good food or what.But they should do something about!!!!!
So many kids are obese. And now they are shocked to hear that barely any eat fruits? I'm not shocked at all. And they keep acting like it's the child's faults. The parents are the ones causing this! They need to back off the kids, because it's not their fault. If the adults want to critisize the kids, they need to man up and start taking the blame, because the kids can't do it on their own.
i do think most kids of my high school need that cause some of them are way to fat but i think that they should eat a little snack every once in a while ...... cause i could not imagine me not eating snacks at school....
Fruits and vegetables nobody likes them but there good for you. I feel that people should eat more of vegetables. I think that we should eat more veggies
Wow! I never knew how much we didn't eat fruits and vegetables. I know that it's hard, but only 1 serving is crazy. We are one of the most unhealthy countries in the world and we really need to work on this. We need to eat healthy because they have valuable nutrients that no other food can give us. This is a huge issue that we need to fix now before obesity becomes the number 1 killer.
I was not shocked by this because many people these days are buying less fruits and vegetables and buying more junk food like candy, chips, cookies, etc. Many families should try to eat more fruits and vegetables and if they don't want to eat more, then we should respect that, but they aren't going to make us miserable, they are going to make them miserable. I don't think the government should make families eat more fruits and vegetables I just think the government should encourage families to eat more fruits and vegetables.