Healthy Eating: Are Americans Eating Fruits and Vegetables?

Summary

A data story from the National Center for Health Statistics

Author: Whitney Anderson

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The National Center for Health Statistics has released two reports that describe how many adults, teens and children eat fruit and vegetables.

The reports, Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Adults: United States, August 2021–August 2023 and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Children and Adolescents: United States, August 2021–August 2023, provide estimates of adults (age 20+) and children (ages 2–19) who ate fruits or vegetables on a given day and show the types they ate. Both reports use data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Key Findings for Adults:

• About 7 in 10 adults consumed some fruit on a given day; a larger share of women (73.5%) than men (66.1%) ate fruit, especially citrus, melons, berries, and other whole fruits.
• More than 9 in 10 adults ate some vegetables on a given day, with no difference between women and men.
• Adults in higher-income families were more likely to eat any fruits (including citrus, melons, berries, and other whole fruits) and any vegetables (including dark green and red or orange vegetables, as well as other types of vegetables). Other vegetables are defined as any vegetables that are not dark green, red/orange, or starchy vegetables.

Key Findings for Children:

• More than 7 in 10 (77%) children and teens ate some fruit on a given day.
• About 9 in 10 (91.8%) pre-school age children ate fruit on a given day and eating fruit decreased as children got older.
• Like adults, 9 in 10 children and adolescents ate some vegetables on a given day.
• Children and teens who ate any vegetables did not change with age but eating dark green vegetables (like spinach or kale) increased as children got older.

For more information and detailed charts, see Data Brief 570 and Health E-Stat 123.