One apple a day?—fruit and vegetable intake in the West of Scotland

Anderson, A. S., Hunt, K. , Ford, G. and Finnigan, F. (1994) One apple a day?—fruit and vegetable intake in the West of Scotland. Health Education Research, 9(3), pp. 297-305. (doi: 10.1093/her/9.3.297)

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Abstract

An examination of the dietary intake of a community sample of people in early and late middle age resident in the West of Scotland showed that the mean weekly intake of fruit was 6.4 portions (SD ± 5.3) and of vegetables was 10.1 portions (SD ± 4.7). Fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) was higher in non-smokers (compared with smokers), owner-occupiers (compared with non-owner-occupiers), women (compared with men), high income households (compared with low and moderate income), adults aged 59–60 (compared with those aged 39–40) and non-manual social classes (compared with manual social classes). However, in every socio-demographic category examined (even those with comparatively high FVI) the majority of respondents fell far short of the WHO recommendation for fruit and vegetables of 400 g per day and no more than 4% in any subgroup examined met or exceeded the WHO's recommendation. FVI was found to be associated with some dietary items (a positive correlation is seen with consumption of chicken, and a negative correlation with sausages and pies). Higher intakes of FVI were also positively associated with intakes of antioxidant vitamins and non-starch polysaccharides, and a lower percentage of energy derived from fat. These results suggest that simplistic health education attempts to increase FVI without considering overall eating patterns are unlikely to be successful.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Hunt, Professor Kathryn
Authors: Anderson, A. S., Hunt, K., Ford, G., and Finnigan, F.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > MRC/CSO SPHSU
Journal Name:Health Education Research
Publisher:Oxford University Press
ISSN:0268-1153
ISSN (Online):1465-3648

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