Americans are still not eating their veggies

According to a recent survey, less than one-third of American adults eat the amount of vegetables and fruits recommended by the government . This is much more below the American Government goal of getting 75% of Americans to eat two servings of fruits and three of vegetables each day by 2010, said Dr. Larry Cohen of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (From MSNBC.com).

Specifically the survey showed that 27 percent of adults ate vegetables three times a day, and about 33 percent ate fruit twice a day. A serving size is a half-cup for most fruits and vegetables, one cup for leafy greens.

Younger adults, age 18 to 24, ate the fewest vegetables. Nearly four-fifths of that age category scraped the veggies to the side of their plates — if they had vegetables on the plate at all. Likewise, seniors also ate the most fruit, with nearly 46 percent eating two or more servings of fruit daily. People age 35 to 44 ate fruit the least, with fewer than 28 percent eating the recommended amount of fruit each day.

The federal agency said it doesn’t know why people aren’t eating more veggies or fruits. Cohen said future surveys will ask people what other foods they are eating. Susan Krause, a clinical dietitian at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, said people are eating more refined sugars or choosing protein instead of fruits and vegetables.

Not only are fruits and vegetables lower-calorie, they also have minerals and fiber that help guard against chronic diseases and cancer, the CDC says.