Skip to main content
PMC home page
American Journal of Public Health logoLink to American Journal of Public Health
. 2000 May;90(5):777–781. doi: 10.2105/ajph.90.5.777

Trends in fruit and vegetable consumption among adults in 16 US states: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 1990-1996.

R Li 1, M Serdula 1, S Bland 1, A Mokdad 1, B Bowman 1, D Nelson 1
PMCID: PMC1446230  PMID: 10800429

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study examined trends in fruit and vegetable consumption among adults in 16 US states. METHODS: Data from telephone surveys were used to stratify respondents by sociodemographic and health-related characteristics. RESULTS: The proportion of adults who consumed fruits and vegetables at least 5 times daily was 19%, 22%, and 23% in 1990, 1994, and 1996, respectively. While the proportion increased among those with active leisure-time physical activities and normal weight, it remained almost the same among inactive people and dropped among the obese. CONCLUSIONS: Progress in fruit and vegetable intake from 1990 to 1994 was encouraging, but it changed little between 1994 and 1996.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (86.6 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Block G., Patterson B., Subar A. Fruit, vegetables, and cancer prevention: a review of the epidemiological evidence. Nutr Cancer. 1992;18(1):1–29. doi: 10.1080/01635589209514201. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Breslow R. A., Subar A. F., Patterson B. H., Block G. Trends in food intake: the 1987 and 1992 National Health Interview Surveys. Nutr Cancer. 1997;28(1):86–92. doi: 10.1080/01635589709514557. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Byers T. Dietary trends in the United States. Relevance to cancer prevention. Cancer. 1993 Aug 1;72(3 Suppl):1015–1018. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19930801)72:3+<1015::aid-cncr2820721312>3.0.co;2-q. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Feskanich D., Rimm E. B., Giovannucci E. L., Colditz G. A., Stampfer M. J., Litin L. B., Willett W. C. Reproducibility and validity of food intake measurements from a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. J Am Diet Assoc. 1993 Jul;93(7):790–796. doi: 10.1016/0002-8223(93)91754-e. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Ford E. S. Characteristics of survey participants with and without a telephone: findings from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. J Clin Epidemiol. 1998 Jan;51(1):55–60. doi: 10.1016/s0895-4356(97)00225-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gillman M. W., Cupples L. A., Gagnon D., Posner B. M., Ellison R. C., Castelli W. P., Wolf P. A. Protective effect of fruits and vegetables on development of stroke in men. JAMA. 1995 Apr 12;273(14):1113–1117. doi: 10.1001/jama.1995.03520380049034. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hebert J. R., Clemow L., Pbert L., Ockene I. S., Ockene J. K. Social desirability bias in dietary self-report may compromise the validity of dietary intake measures. Int J Epidemiol. 1995 Apr;24(2):389–398. doi: 10.1093/ije/24.2.389. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Heimendinger J., Van Duyn M. A., Chapelsky D., Foerster S., Stables G. The national 5 A Day for Better Health Program: a large-scale nutrition intervention. J Public Health Manag Pract. 1996 Spring;2(2):27–35. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Krebs-Smith S. M., Cook A., Subar A. F., Cleveland L., Friday J. US adults' fruit and vegetable intakes, 1989 to 1991: a revised baseline for the Healthy People 2000 objective. Am J Public Health. 1995 Dec;85(12):1623–1629. doi: 10.2105/ajph.85.12.1623. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Krebs-Smith S. M. Progress in improving diet to reduce cancer risk. Cancer. 1998 Oct 1;83(7):1425–1432. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19981001)83:7<1425::aid-cncr21>3.0.co;2-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. McGinnis J. M., Foege W. H. Actual causes of death in the United States. JAMA. 1993 Nov 10;270(18):2207–2212. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Pandey D. K., Shekelle R., Selwyn B. J., Tangney C., Stamler J. Dietary vitamin C and beta-carotene and risk of death in middle-aged men. The Western Electric Study. Am J Epidemiol. 1995 Dec 15;142(12):1269–1278. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a117594. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Popkin B. M., Haines P. S., Patterson R. E. Dietary changes in older Americans, 1977-1987. Am J Clin Nutr. 1992 Apr;55(4):823–830. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/55.4.823. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Popkin B. M., Haines P. S., Reidy K. C. Food consumption trends of US women: patterns and determinants between 1977 and 1985. Am J Clin Nutr. 1989 Jun;49(6):1307–1319. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/49.6.1307. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Remington P. L., Smith M. Y., Williamson D. F., Anda R. F., Gentry E. M., Hogelin G. C. Design, characteristics, and usefulness of state-based behavioral risk factor surveillance: 1981-87. Public Health Rep. 1988 Jul-Aug;103(4):366–375. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Serdula M. K., Coates R. J., Byers T., Simoes E., Mokdad A. H., Subar A. F. Fruit and vegetable intake among adults in 16 states: results of a brief telephone survey. Am J Public Health. 1995 Feb;85(2):236–239. doi: 10.2105/ajph.85.2.236. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Serdula M., Coates R., Byers T., Mokdad A., Jewell S., Chávez N., Mares-Perlman J., Newcomb P., Ritenbaugh C., Treiber F. Evaluation of a brief telephone questionnaire to estimate fruit and vegetable consumption in diverse study populations. Epidemiology. 1993 Sep;4(5):455–463. doi: 10.1097/00001648-199309000-00012. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Smith-Warner S. A., Elmer P. J., Fosdick L., Tharp T. M., Randall B. Reliability and comparability of three dietary assessment methods for estimating fruit and vegetable intakes. Epidemiology. 1997 Mar;8(2):196–201. doi: 10.1097/00001648-199703000-00013. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Verschuren W. M., Jacobs D. R., Bloemberg B. P., Kromhout D., Menotti A., Aravanis C., Blackburn H., Buzina R., Dontas A. S., Fidanza F. Serum total cholesterol and long-term coronary heart disease mortality in different cultures. Twenty-five-year follow-up of the seven countries study. JAMA. 1995 Jul 12;274(2):131–136. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Public Health are provided here courtesy of American Public Health Association

RESOURCES