Fruit and Vegetable Servings - Does 3FC Beat the Average?
 

I bet we do! Completely unofficial, unscientific poll but some new research is out on the proportion of Americans who meet their fruit and vegetable serving targets.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryC...utrition/22100

Originally Posted by :
Overall, only about a third of American adults ate at least two servings of vegetables daily in 2009, and about a fourth consumed at least three servings of vegetables a day.

"The findings in this report indicate that 2009 overall and state-specific estimates of the proportions of U.S. adults consuming fruit two or more times per day or vegetables three or more times per day were far short of the targets set by Healthy People 2010," Kirsten A. Grimm, MPH, and co-investigators wrote in the discussion of their findings.

Originally Posted by :
For the fruit goal of two or more servings a day, the data showed that in 2009:

* 32.5% of Americans met the goal
* That proportion decreased from 34.4% in 2000
* Four states had small increases in progress toward the fruit goal
* 12 states had rates of 35% to 45% for the fruit goal
* Oklahoma had the fewest residents who met the goal (18.1%)
* The District of Columbia and California had the highest on-target fruit consumption (40.2% and 40.1%, respectively)

For the vegetable-consumption goal of three or more servings a day, in 2009:

* 26.3% of American met the goal
* That proportion was virtually unchanged from 26.7% in 2000
* 11 states had slight increases in progress toward the goal
* No state had 35% or more of residents who met the goal
* South Dakota had the fewest residents who met the goal (19.6%)
* Tennessee had the highest on-target vegetable consumption (33.0%)

So, 3FCers - are you meeting your fruit and veggie targets?

As of my afternoon snack, I've had 3 fruit servings and 1 vegetable serving. I'll have at least 2 more veg servings for dinner. Yum! Luv them fruit and veggies!

Today my plan includes 3 servings of fruit (2 of watermelon, and one small Asian pear) and 5 servings of vegetables (tomatoes, zucchini, onion, and bell pepper in my chili, and 2 servings of green beans with my dinner).

Sometimes I am confused (okay....more than sometimes!) but sometimes I count tomatoes and bell peppers as fruits and sometimes as veggies. Botanically, anything with seeds is a fruit, but I count zucchini and and peppers and such as veggies. Does the Healthy People 2010 program define their fruits and veggie categorization?

And also, I would like some of your chili. :drool:

Ooo - I totally want some of your chili too, Amanda.

I have already met my fruit and veggie serving with morning snack and lunch. Met it multiple times yesterday. :)

Love the fruits and veggies. Even the ones I don't know how to classify. For example, chayote - some places call it chayote fruit, some call it chayote squash?

They use USDA guidelines, which calls them both a vegetable. I define fruit by sweetness, not by botanical definition.

I have been food logging longer than I've been trying to lose weight just to get these numbers where they are supposed to be and I'm sad to say I'm only aware of a few days per year where I make both the fruit and veg minimum. I just can't get that much volume (5 cups at my current weight) in me unless I skip eating all other foods that day. I often get one or the other, but not both.

I eat a ton of veggies but for now I am low carb so I eat very little fruit or fruity veggies like tomatoes and peppers.

Originally Posted by Shannon in ATL:
Ooo - I totally want some of your chili too, Amanda.

I have already met my fruit and veggie serving with morning snack and lunch. Met it multiple times yesterday. :)

Love the fruits and veggies. Even the ones I don't know how to classify. For example, chayote - some places call it chayote fruit, some call it chayote squash?

Oh my goodness, someone else who thinks like me! :rofl: I'm so glad you asked this! But I didn't need to know peppers could be thought of as a fruit. LOL!

I definitely get my fruit in and I usually get 2 veggies in. I'm weird with veggies. I guess technically I get it in, but just as I can't decide if tomatoes are a fruit or a vegetable, I can't decide if a veggie counts if it's cooked. :dizzy: Yes, I have issues. LOL! It just doesn't feel like I'm eating veggies when they're in a stir fry. Or what about when I overcook them, which I often do because I have ADD. Did I get them in? Does that count?

Originally Posted by Eliana:
Oh my goodness, someone else who thinks like me! :rofl: I'm so glad you asked this! But I didn't need to know peppers could be thought of as a fruit. LOL!

I definitely get my fruit in and I usually get 2 veggies in. I'm weird with veggies. I guess technically I get it in, but just as I can't decide if tomatoes are a fruit or a vegetable, I can't decide if a veggie counts if it's cooked. :dizzy: Yes, I have issues. LOL! It just doesn't feel like I'm eating veggies when they're in a stir fry. Or what about when I overcook them, which I often do because I have ADD. Did I get them in? Does that count?

Haha! Someone else who totally overanalyzes it!! I love it!! Another stumper for me is cooked spinach and cabbage, cause it cooks down so much, so is it a serving if it's been cooked down to 1/4 cup? I like to ponder this stuff, but fruits and veggies are just so great....the more the merrier!

If tomatoes are considered a fruit (& I think they are???) then I meet the recommended fruit servings every day.

My veggies servings? Ha - I blow it out of the water - I easily triple the recommended servings every day of the week, 365 days a years.

Today's fruit/veggie's will consist of:

Bowl of homemade veggie soup - made with parsnips, green and yellow squash, garlic, onions, sweet potato and carrots.

About 25 red grapes.
2 fresh figs, maybe 3

Salad, consisting of romaine hearts, grape tomatoes, red onion, hearts of palm (fruit perhaps?) strawberries (ooh, more fruit).

Dinner is Lemon/garlic chicken breasts served over sauteed spinach, mushrooms, onions and wine, topped with roasted tomato slices.

Cucumber salad using 2 large kirbys.

And I don't even live in DC ;).

And yes Eliana - it counts - cooked, raw, overcooked...

I googled "Is tomato a fruit or veggie?" and got this. If it's true, my consumption of veggies just went waaaay down and my consumption of fruits just went waaaay up.

http://www.sciencebob.com/questions/..._vegetable.php

To really figure out if a tomato is a fruit or vegetable, you need to know what makes a fruit a fruit, and a vegetable a vegetable. The big question to ask is, DOES IT HAVE SEEDS? If the answer is yes, then technically, (botanically) you have a FRUIT. This, of course, makes your tomato a fruit. It also makes cucumbers, squash, green beans and walnuts all fruits as well. Along with the fruit from from a plant or tree, we can often eat the leaves (lettuce,) stems (celery,) roots (carrots,) and flowers (broccoli.) Many of these other parts of the plant are typically referred to as VEGETABLES. Now don't go looking for tomatoes next to the oranges in your grocery stores; fruits like tomatoes and green beans are usually (alas, incorrectly) referred to as "vegetables" in most grocery stores and cookbooks.

Well shoot Robin, I forgot about onions and garlic! I eat a lot of that! I guess I do get my veggies in after all.

Midwife, it's amazing how much spinach cooks down!! Cabbage too, you're right.

I meet my fruits & veggie target every day. As a 'maintainer' I believe this is very important.

This is a very interesting thread.

I think I do and usually more ~ each morning I have a fruit like a small banana or peaches, strawberries, blueberries (today: banana + raisins + dried apricot); afternoon and evenings I usually cut an apple, pear or orange in half (watching my BSL's). I have salads + fresh veggies (cucumbers, tomatoes, baby carrots, celery) every day plus at least 2-4 servings of veggies on top of that for dinner. I had a big salad for lunch which included romaine lettuce, red & green cabbage, broccoli, shredded carrot and onions, a baby cuke; also usually .5 tomato). Will have sliced tomato & cuke salad with our fish tonight too with some coleslaw. 3-4+ times a week, we have homemade veggie soup and salad two times each day ... and I am aiming for more! We eat sweet potatoes a lot now; and I picked up some zucchini for tomorrow's dinner as well. :D

I eat a lot of green beans (one of my faves and so low in calories); and cucumbers and tomatoes every day, so I eat more fruit than I realized ... :)