Despite a steady bombardment of advice about the importance of eating a healthy diet, Americans are eating fewer fruits and vegetables on average than they were in the 1990s, said the USDA’s Economic Research Service, which analyzed annual consumption rates for 120 varieties of raw, dried, canned, frozen and juiced produce between 1994-98 and 2007-2008.
“Over the last decade … supplies of total fruits and vegetables available to consume in the United States have fallen from 299 pounds per person in 2003 to 272 pounds per person in 2013,” said ERS. “However, a deeper look into the overall numbers reveals that three fruits and vegetables—orange juice, potatoes, and head lettuce—account for 22 pounds of this 27-pound decline. And, despite the decline in consumption of some fruits and vegetables, Americans are consuming more of other types of these nutrient-packed foods.”
Much of the drop in vegetable consumption, for instance, was confined to potatoes, the country’s most-popular vegetable, while consumption of peppers, leafy greens, broccoli and cauliflower increased among all age groups. Potatoes have been branded a “bad carbohydrate” by some nutritionists, who link excessive consumption of them to obesity and diabetes. “Boys (age 2 to 19) had the largest drop,” the ERS said, with their potato consumption falling from 63.7 pounds per person in 1994-98 to 45.2 pounds in 2007-08.
Similarly, a decline in overall consumption of orange juice helped explain why total fruit consumption was lower in 2007-08 than in 1994-98, according to ERS. “Orange juice is the largest fruit category in terms of consumption, and average U.S. consumption fell from the equivalent of 38.3 pounds of oranges per person per year in 1994-98 to 30.9 pounds in 2007-08.”
Food choices can be affected by numerous factors, including income and education levels. “The more educated the adult, the more other vegetables (non-potato and non-tomato) eaten,” the ERS study found. “In 2007-08, college-educated adults consumed 187.4 pounds of total vegetables per person per year, of which 100.7 pounds were other vegetables. Adults with only a high school education ate 181.9 pounds of total vegetables per person, of which 87.6 pounds were other vegetables. Adults who had less than a high school education consumed 158.2 pounds per person of all vegetables, of which 76.3 pounds were other vegetables.”