Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in North Carolina

North Carolina

Diets high in fruits and vegetables reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease and stroke. Consuming fruits and vegetables three or more times daily is associated with decreased cardiovascular deaths. 

Roughly half of all adults in the United States suffer from preventable chronic diseases related to poor diet and physical inactivity. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 recommends that adults consume two cups of fruits and two and a half cups of vegetables per day. Consuming fruits and vegetables during pregnancy helps provide essential nutrients such as vitamin C and folic acid.  

The potential economic benefit of improved healthy eating in the U.S. has been estimated at $114.5 billion (2012 dollars) per year in medical savings, increased productivity and the value of prolonged life. 

Barriers to regular consumption of fruits and vegetables include cost, lack of access to fresh produce, perceived lack of preparation time and lack of cooking knowledge. Additionally, some Americans live in areas identified as food deserts, where access to healthful foods is limited. 

According to America’s Health Rankings data, the prevalence of fruit and vegetable consumption is higher among:

• Women compared with men.
• Adults ages 18-44 compared with those ages 65 and older.  
• Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and Asian adults, as well as adults who identify as other race, compared with Hispanic adults. 
• College graduates compared with adults with lower educational attainment.
• Adults with an annual household income of $75,000 or more compared with those with lower incomes.
• Adults living in metropolitan areas compared with those in non-metropolitan areas.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers strategies for states and communities to improve access to fruits and vegetables, including:

• Adopting policies to ensure access to fruit and vegetable food service venues in worksites, hospitals and universities. 
• Encouraging farm-to-institution programs in schools, hospitals, workplaces and childcare centers. 
• Improving access to stores and markets that sell fruits and vegetables. States with a higher density of healthy food retailers, farmers markets and acceptance of nutrition-assistance program benefits by farmers markets report higher consumption of fruits and vegetables. 
• Eliminating food deserts. Funding is available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish healthy retail outlets in underserved areas. USDA provides an interactive tool to identify food deserts at the census-tract level and resources to help individuals improve their diet.

Healthy People 2030 has multiple objectives to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables among people ages two and older. 

Anekwe, Tobenna D., and Ilya Rahkovsky. “Economic Costs and Benefits of Healthy Eating.” Current Obesity Reports 2, no. 3 (September 1, 2013): 225–34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-013-0064-9.

Bazzano, Lydia A., Jiang He, Lorraine G. Ogden, Catherine M. Loria, Suma Vupputuri, Leann Myers, and Paul K. Whelton. “Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in US Adults: The First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 76, no. 1 (July 1, 2002): 93–99. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/76.1.93.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “2018 State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables.” Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/downloads/fruits-vegetables/2018/2018-fruit-vegetable-report-508.pdf.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Strategies to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases: The CDC Guide to Strategies to Increase the Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables.” Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/21639.

Dutko, Paula, Michele Ver Ploeg, and Tracey Farrigan. “Characteristics and Influential Factors of Food Deserts.” Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, August 2012. https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/45014/30940_err140.pdf.

Singleton, Chelsea R., Sydney Fouché, Rucha Deshpande, Angela Odoms-Young, Corey Chatman, and Connie Spreen. “Barriers to Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Farmers’ Market Incentive Programme Users in Illinois, USA.” Public Health Nutrition 21, no. 7 (February 19, 2018): 1345–49. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980018000101.

U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, December 2020. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans_2020-2025.pdf.

Yeh, Ming-Chin, Scott B. Ickes, Lisa M. Lowenstein, Kerem Shuval, Alice S. Ammerman, Rosanne Farris, and David L. Katz. “Understanding Barriers and Facilitators of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among a Diverse Multi-Ethnic Population in the USA.” Health Promotion International 23, no. 1 (March 1, 2008): 42–51. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dam044.