From TIME · Alice Park · · 1m 30s
Americans eat more fruit, fewer vegetables
A new federal report shows what 5,000 people put on their plates, and where the gaps sit.
In brief
A new federal report shows what 5,000 people put on their plates, and where the gaps sit. Most Americans eat some produce daily, but almost nobody hits the federal targets, and dark-green vegetables are the biggest miss. Originally reported by TIME.
Most eat produce, not all
From 2021 to 2023, about 70% of adults 20 and older ate fruit or drank 100% juice on a given day. 93% ate a vegetable, so roughly 30% had no fruit at all.
Fruit up, vegetables down
Compared with the 2015 to 2018 survey, fruit ticked up from 67% to 70%. Vegetables slipped from 95% to 93%.
Women eat more fruit
74% of women ate fruit on a given day versus 66% of men. Vegetable rates matched, but 42% of women ate a dark-green vegetable compared with 34% of men.
Income shapes the plate
Higher family income tracked with more fruit and vegetable eating. Dark-green vegetables came last in every income group, and they carry vitamins for heart, brain, and bones.
Still short of the targets
Federal guidelines call for about 2 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables a day. That is roughly two small apples and five medium carrots, and most people fall below it.
Juice is not whole fruit
31% of adults counted 100% fruit juice as their fruit. Whole fruit brings fiber that juice does not, and pandemic-era grocery inflation of about 3.5% a year likely nudges choices.
The key point
Most Americans eat some produce daily, but almost nobody hits the federal targets, and dark-green vegetables are the biggest miss.
