Eating Five Fruits and Vegetables A Day

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend eating a healthful diet consisting of at least five servings of a variety of fruits and vegetables daily because these foods help lower the risk of many chronic conditions and diseases. (1) Conversely, poor nutrition increases both the prevalence and the severity of many conditions (including obesity, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and arthritis) and illnesses (including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain cancers). (2)

What percentage of women eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day?

The Report Card benchmark of increasing to 50 percent the proportion of people age two and older who eat at least two daily servings of fruit and at least three daily servings of vegetables is based on a modification of the Healthy People goal [Healthy People 2010 Objectives 19-5, 19-6] to make it consistent with the way the available data are reported.

Data Source: Eating Five Fruits and Vegetables a Day (%), 2005

EXPLANATION:

This measure includes women age 18 and older in the non-institutionalized civilian population who report that they do eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

SOURCE:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data, 2005, available at http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/index.asp. The national number is the median of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data for race/ethnicity and age are two-year averages from 2003 and 2005 and are age-adjusted to the 2000 standard population. Note that data for race/ethnicity reported in the Asian/Pacific Islander column reflect only Asian data for 49 states and the District of Columbia and reflect only Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander data for Hawaii. National Center for Health Statistics, Health Data for All Ages: Health Care Access and Use, Health Status and Disability, and Health Conditions and Risk Factors Tables, available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/health_data_for_all_ages.htm.

  State Overall Data State Grade State Rank
ALABAMA 21.7% F 48
ALASKA 29.0% F 20
ARIZONA 28.2% F 22
ARKANSAS 25.2% F 40
CALIFORNIA 34.0% F 5
COLORADO 30.0% F 14
CONNECTICUT 32.3% F 8
DELAWARE 25.1% F 41
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 35.5% F 2
FLORIDA 31.5% F 11
GEORGIA 26.7% F 32
HAWAII 26.9% F 30
IDAHO 28.7% F 21
ILLINOIS 27.5% F 29
INDIANA 25.6% F 37
IOWA 24.4% F 43
KANSAS 24.0% F 45
KENTUCKY 20.0% F 49
LOUISIANA 21.9% F 47
MAINE 35.5% F 2
MARYLAND 32.5% F 7
MASSACHUSETTS 32.7% F 6
MICHIGAN 28.1% F 25
MINNESOTA 29.6% F 17
MISSISSIPPI 18.7% F 50
MISSOURI 26.5% F 35
MONTANA 27.7% F 27
NEBRASKA 24.5% F 42
NEVADA 28.1% F 25
NEW HAMPSHIRE 35.1% F 4
NEW JERSEY 29.5% F 18
NEW MEXICO 25.5% F 38
NEW YORK 31.8% F 9
NORTH CAROLINA 26.2% F 36
NORTH DAKOTA 29.8% F 15
OHIO 26.7% F 32
OKLAHOMA 18.4% F 51
OREGON 31.7% F 10
PENNSYLVANIA 28.2% F 22
RHODE ISLAND 29.7% F 16
SOUTH CAROLINA 24.1% F 44
SOUTH DAKOTA 25.5% F 38
TENNESSEE 27.6% F 28
TEXAS 26.9% F 30
UTAH 29.1% F 19
VERMONT 36.8% U 1
VIRGINIA 30.4% F 13
WASHINGTON 30.8% F 12
WEST VIRGINIA 22.9% F 46
WISCONSIN 28.2% F 22
WYOMING 26.6% F 34
 
S (Satisfactory): 0  
S- (Satisfactory Minus): 0  
U (Unsatisfactory): 1  
F (Fail): 50  

1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, "Dietary Guidelines for Americans," 2005, available at http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/chapter5.htm.

2 Centers for Disease Control and Precention, Disease and Risk Factors, "Physical Inactivity, Poor Nutrition, and Tobacco Use," April 2007, available at http://www.cdc.gov/steps/disease_risk/index.htm#4.