Fruit and Vegetable Consumption - Women in United States

United States

The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults consume two cups of fruits and two and a half cups of vegetables daily. Diets high in fruits and vegetables can help lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, and prevent some types of cancer. Consuming fruits and vegetables three or more times daily is associated with a lower overall mortality risk. Roughly half of all adults in the United States suffer from one or more preventable chronic diseases related to poor diet and physical inactivity. Additionally, consuming vegetables and fruits during pregnancy may help women get essential nutrients such as vitamin A, potassium and folic acid.

Barriers to regular consumption of fruits and vegetables include cost, lack of access to fresh produce and perceived lack of preparation time and cooking knowledge. In addition, some Americans live in areas known as food deserts, where access to healthy and affordable food is severely limited.

The estimated annual expenditures of unhealthy diets resulting in medical expenses and lower productivity are $1.1 trillion.

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

• Women ages 35-44 compared with those ages 18-24.
• Women with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more compared with women who have incomes of $50,000-$74,999.

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 fruits and vegetables in workplace cafeterias. 
• Encouraging farm-to-institution programs in schools, hospitals, workplaces and child care centers. 
• Expanding new and existing farmers markets for direct access to seasonal fruits and vegetables.
• Improving access to and availability of fruits and vegetables at local grocery stores. States with a higher density of healthy food retailers, farmers markets and particularly farmers markets that accept nutrition-assistance program benefits report higher consumption of fruits and vegetables. 

Funding is available from the USDA for projects that establish healthy retail outlets or otherwise improve food access in underserved areas. The USDA provides an interactive tool to identify low-income and low-access areas at the census tract level and individual-level resources for improving one's diet. Additionally, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) can provide nutrition education and a monthly dollar amount to increase fruit and vegetable consumption for eligible households.

Additionally, states, localities and organizations can either modify and expand current programs to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables, or they can introduce new fruit and vegetable voucher incentives and produce prescription programs.

The Community Preventive Services Task Force also suggests implementing community-based digital health interventions such as coaching and counseling, social support, educational tools and goal-setting to promote increased fruit and vegetable consumption.

Healthy People 2030 has multiple objectives on nutrition and healthy eating, including increasing fruit consumption among people age two and older and increasing vegetable consumption among people age two and older.

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.

Lee-Kwan, Seung Hee, Latetia V. Moore, Heidi M. Blanck, Diane M. Harris, and Deb Galuska. “Disparities in State-Specific Adult Fruit and Vegetable Consumption — United States, 2015.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 66, no. 45 (November 17, 2017): 1241–47. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6645a1.

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.