Health related behaviours Fruit and vegetable consumption among adults
Note:
Recommended daily consumption of vegetables is four serves for females aged over 12 and males aged 12-18 or over 60, and five serves for males aged 19-60. One serve is equivalent to 1/2 cup of cooked vegetables or 1 cup of salad vegetables. Recommended daily consumption of fruit is three serves for people aged 12-18, and two serves for people aged 19 and over. One serve is equivalent to one medium piece or two small pieces of fruit. Upper and lower limits of the 95 per cent confidence interval (LL/UL 95% CI) for the point estimate are shown in the data table.
Source:
NSW Health Survey 2004 (HOIST). Centre for Epidemiology and Research, NSW Health.
Adequate consumption of fruit and vegetables is protective against coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, and many forms of cancer (National Public Health Partnership, 2001). Vegetables and fruit are significant sources of antioxidants, which play an important role in removing damaging 'free radicals' formed during normal metabolism. They are also important sources of dietary fibre, folate, and complex carbohydrates. The fibre and low-energy content of fruit and vegetables may have benefits in weight control by the displacement in the diet of other foods high in fat and energy (NSW Health Department, 2002).
Among Hunter New England respondents to the 2004 NSW Health Survey, about twice as many females (12.3%) as males (9.5%) reported adequate consumption of vegetables per day. The proportion of both males and females who reported eating recommended quantities of vegetables tended to increase with age until 65-74 years, then decline for those aged 75+. It is worth noting, however, that less than 10% of males aged 25-34 years reported adequate consumption of vegetables. More females than males reported adequate consumption of vegetables across all age groups, except among people aged 75 years or more, where this pattern was reversed. That is, more males than females over the age of 75 reported adequate consumption of vegetables.
51.8% of Hunter New England females and 45.0% of males reported adequate consumption of fruit each day. Consumption of fruit in women aged 16-24 was the lowest across all age groups. Similar patterns were seen in males, with reported adequate fruit consumption also lowest in males aged 16-24 years. For most age groups more females than males reported adequate consumption of fruit and vegetables. The exception to this pattern was those aged 16-24 years, where slightly more males than females reported adequate consumption of vegetables.
The proportion of Hunter New England participants who reported adequate consumption of vegetables was higher in 2004 than in 2002 for both males (12.3% versus 9.5%) and females (26.8% versus 23.6%). Rates of adequate fruit consumption were also higher in 2004 than in 2002, especially for males (45.0% versus 38.6%). For females fruit consumption was higher in 2004 (51.8% versus 44.6%).
The NSW Health strategic planning document 'Eat Well NSW Strategic Directions for Public Health Nutrition 2002-2007' includes population strategies for increasing consumption of vegetables and fruit among the New South Wales population.
For more information:
National Public Health Partnership. Eat Well Australia. An agenda for action for public health nutrition, 2000-2010. Canberra: Strategic Inter-Governmental Nutrition Alliance, 2001. Online, www.nphp.gov.au/publications/signal/eatwell2.pdf
NSW Department of Health. Eat Well NSW Strategic Directions for Public Health Nutrition 2002-2007. Sydney: NSW Department of Health, 2002.
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Rider:
The information presented in this report result from analyses of a variety of social and health focused datasets. These datasets originate from a variety of sources including Hunter New England Health, the NSW Department of Health, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The timing of the release of these data to third parties is controlled by the owner of these data. It is therefore possible for these organisations to publish data that they have not yet made available to Hunter New England Population Health for analysis and release. Users should therefore check the publications of these organisations as it is possible that they may have published even more up to date information on Hunter New England than those available in this report. As this report is an ongoing project, the indicators presented will be updated as soon as possible after the release of all datasets to Hunter New England Population Health.
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Hunter New England Population Health. Health in Hunter New England. Hunter New England Area Health Service, 2005. Available at:
http://www.hnehealth.nsw.gov.au/HHNE/beh/beh_foodage.htm. Accessed (insert date of access).
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