Fruit and Vegetable Comsumtion Percentage Asian

1. Introduction

Fruit and vegetables are important elements of a healthy, balanced diet, be it as part of a main meal or as a snack. They bring us vitamins, minerals and fibre, some energy (mainly in the form of sugar), as well as certain minor components - often referred to as phytochemicals or secondary plant products - which are potentially beneficial for our health. Epidemiological studies have shown that high intakes of fruit and vegetables are associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases; particularly, cardiovascular disease^1-3, also type 2 diabetes⁴, and certain cancers i.e. of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophageal, stomach and lungs⁵.
A majority of European citizens associate a healthy diet with fruit and vegetable consumption, and many of them believe that their diet is healthy⁶. But is this true? Do people in Europe actually get the amounts of fruit and vegetables recommended for good health? Aiming to answer this question, this review also looks deeper into what factors influence fruit and vegetable consumption in Europe, and what are the best intervention approaches to increase it. Lastly, we will have a glance at on-going European initiatives around fruit and vegetable consumption.

First of all, we need to understand which foods and drinks fall into the category of fruit and vegetables, how much we are recommended to have of these and why it might be difficult to obtain reliable and comparable data on fruit and vegetable consumption.

Definitions of fruit and vegetables

How are fruit and vegetables defined? It might seem like a simple question, but it is actually quite complicated to derive an all-embracing definition. Tomatoes and lettuce, apples and strawberries may be easy to identify as vegetables and fruits, respectively. But how about potatoes? And is fruit juice equal to fruit? Then there are pulses and nuts, which are also plant foods that may or may not be categorised in these food groups. This is important to keep in mind when performing dietary surveys in order to know what is actually being measured.

The definition of fruit and vegetables also varies between countries. Some countries (e.g. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden) have not included potatoes and starchy tubers, following the same principle as the World Health Organization (WHO), whereas the Norwegian recommendations, for example, include potatoes. Juice is sometimes excluded from the fruit and vegetable recommendations (e.g. Belgium, Spain), sometimes included with limitations (e.g. counts as maximum 1 portion (e.g. Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden), and fully included in other countries (e.g. Iceland and Norway). Austria and Portugal do not provide any specification regarding juice.⁷

Varying definitions of which foods belong to fruit and vegetables present a barrier to comparing data from different studies. This is a major issue when trying to estimate fruit and vegetable consumption in Europe. Given that many national authorities regularly perform surveys of fruit and vegetable intake, standardising the survey methodology would vastly improve data comparability across different countries.

Measuring fruit and vegetable intake

There are different ways to measure food consumption. Food diaries and dietary recalls (i.e. interviews and questionnaires) are means to obtain information on what individuals eat. Household spend and average food supply based on national statistics may also be used to assess consumption.

Different methods take into account different aspects and the exactitude varies between them. Hence data obtained with different methods are not directly comparable. National Authorities have typically selected methods for their dietary surveys without international comparability in mind⁸.

The lack of comparable data on dietary intake will be tackled by the EU Menu, a pan-European dietary survey by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that uses standardised data collection methods. The 5 year survey will start at the beginning of 2012⁹.

Recommendations

Definitions of fruit and vegetables are not only important to obtain accurate and comparable data on consumption, but they are also crucial for intake recommendations and what their effect will be on population intakes.

WHO recommends eating ≥400 g per day of fruits and vegetables, not counting potatoes and other starchy tubers such as cassava¹⁰. In Europe, the recommendations vary between countries. In general, these are in line with the WHO recommendation, but some countries recommend higher amounts e.g. ≥600 g per day in Denmark⁷.