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.1 These foods help lower the risk of many chronic conditions and diseases. 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).2,3
The Report Card benchmark of increasing to 50 percent the proportion of people ages 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.
| State | State Overall Data | State Grade | State Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 22.3 | F | 45 |
| Alaska | 27.9 | F | 25 |
| Arizona | 28.6 | F | 20 |
| Arkansas | 24.6 | F | 38 |
| California | 32.9 | F | 6 |
| Colorado | 29.5 | F | 17 |
| Connecticut | 32.7 | F | 7 |
| Delaware | 28.0 | F | 23 |
| District of Columbia | 34.2 | F | 2 |
| Florida | 28.3 | F | 21 |
| Georgia | 27.7 | F | 26 |
| Hawaii | 27.3 | F | 28 |
| Idaho | 31.2 | F | 11 |
| Illinois | 26.5 | F | 32 |
| Indiana | 23.7 | F | 41 |
| Iowa | 23.5 | F | 43 |
| Kansas | 22.6 | F | 44 |
| Kentucky | 24.1 | F | 40 |
| Louisiana | 18.7 | F | 49 |
| Maine | 34.2 | F | 2 |
| Maryland | 31.3 | F | 10 |
| Massachusetts | 31.7 | F | 9 |
| Michigan | 26.4 | F | 33 |
| Minnesota | 26.3 | F | 34 |
| Mississippi | 18.7 | F | 49 |
| Missouri | 26.6 | F | 31 |
| Montana | 32.3 | F | 8 |
| Nebraska | 25.8 | F | 36 |
| Nevada | 25.1 | F | 37 |
| New Hampshire | 33.2 | F | 4 |
| New Jersey | 30.2 | F | 15 |
| New Mexico | 26.8 | F | 30 |
| New York | 30.4 | F | 14 |
| North Carolina | 23.7 | F | 41 |
| North Dakota | 27.6 | F | 27 |
| Ohio | 24.6 | F | 38 |
| Oklahoma | 16.7 | F | 51 |
| Oregon | 31.0 | F | 12 |
| Pennsylvania | 28.0 | F | 23 |
| Rhode Island | 29.6 | F | 16 |
| South Carolina | 20.6 | F | 46 |
| South Dakota | 20.0 | F | 47 |
| Tennessee | 26.1 | F | 35 |
| Texas | 28.2 | F | 22 |
| Utah | 29.3 | F | 18 |
| Vermont | 35.9 | U | 1 |
| Virginia | 33.0 | F | 5 |
| Washington | 30.5 | F | 13 |
| West Virginia | 18.8 | F | 48 |
| Wisconsin | 27.2 | F | 29 |
| Wyoming | 29.0 | F | 19 |
Data Source: Eating Five Fruits and Vegetables a Day (%), 2009.
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 (BRFSS), 2009, available at http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/index.asp and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Public Health and Science, Office on Women’s Health. Quick Health Data Online, 2010, Washington, DC, 2010, available at http://www.womenshealth.gov/quickhealthdata. The national overall number and national data by age are the median of 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data for race/ethnicity and age are three-year averages from 2007-2009 and are age-adjusted to the 2000 standard population.
1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” (Washington: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2005), available at http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/chapter5.htm.
2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Physical Inactivity, Poor Nutrition, and Tobacco Use,” (Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 2007), available at http://www.cdc.gov/steps/disease_risk/index.htm#4.
3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Fruit and Vegetable Benefits,” (Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), available at http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/benefits/index.html
