Research
Research and Professional Brief
Correlates of Fruit and Vegetable Intakes in US Children

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2008.11.022Get rights and content

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the quality of the current intakes of fruits and vegetables compared to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in US children and adolescents and identify factors related to low fruit and vegetable intake. This descriptive study examined differences in fruit and vegetable intakes by age, sex, ethnicity, poverty level, body mass index, and food security status utilizing data from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Six thousand five hundred thirteen children and adolescents ages 2 to 18 years, who were respondents to the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Mean fruit and vegetable intakes were computed using 24-hour recalls for individuals and compared using analysis of variance. Leading contributors to fruit and vegetable intake were identified using frequency analysis. Children aged 2 to 5 years had significantly higher total fruit and juice intakes than 6- to 11- and 12- to 18-year-olds. Total vegetable and french fry intake was significantly higher among 12- to 18-year-old adolescents. Regarding sex differences, boys consumed significantly more fruit juice and french fries than girls. In addition, non-Hispanic African-American children and adolescents consumed significantly more dark-green vegetables and fewer mean deep-yellow vegetables than Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white children and adolescents. Total fruit consumption also differed significantly among race/ethnicities and household income. Children and adolescents most at risk for higher intakes of energy-dense fruits and vegetables (fruit juice and french fries) were generally boys, and adolescents, at risk for overweight or overweight and living in households below 350% of the poverty level.

Section snippets

Methods

Correlates of fruit and vegetable intake in US children and adolescents aged 2 to 18 years were assessed using 1999-2002 NHANES data. A final sample of 6,513 children and adolescents included those meeting the following criteria: aged between 2 and 18 years, food intake data available, and nonpregnant. The associations among fruit and vegetable intakes and sex, ethnicity, poverty level, weight status, and food security status were examined.

The dependent variables, fruit and vegetable intakes

Results and Discussion

The weighted sample of 6,513 children and adolescents contained 13.8% Mexican-American, 69.8% non-Hispanic white, and 16.4% non-Hispanic African-American individuals; 49% were girls. Seventy-five percent of the sample lived in households determined fully food secure, whereas 7.3% lived in marginally food secure households, 10.9% lived in households determined food insecure without hunger, and 6.2% lived in households determined food insecure with hunger. The mean intakes for both total

Conclusions

Mean intakes by children and adolescents were below recommended levels of fruit and vegetable intakes. Children and adolescents most often not meeting MyPyramid recommendations were boys, older, and living in households between 130% and 350% of the federal poverty level. These children and adolescents should be targeted for nutrition interventions focusing on amounts and types of fruits and vegetables to consume. Nevertheless, there is a common need among American children and adolescents for

B. A. Lorson is a registered dietitian, The Ohio State University, Columbus

References (42)

  • P.K. Newby et al.

    Beverage consumption is not associated with changes in weight and body mass index among low-income preschool children in North Dakota

    J Am Diet Assoc

    (2004)
  • A. Drewnowski et al.

    The economics of obesity: Dietary energy density and energy cost

    Am J Clin Nutr

    (2005)
  • M.L. Mannino et al.

    The quality of girls' diets declines and tracks across middle childhood

    Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act

    (2004)
  • M.S. Faith et al.

    Fruit juice intake predicts increased adiposity gain in children from low-income families: Weight status-by-environment interaction

    Pediatrics

    (2006)
  • Healthy People 2010

  • L.J. Cooke et al.

    Demographic, familial and trait predictors of fruit and vegetable consumption by pre-school children

    Public Health Nutr

    (2004)
  • C.L. Perry et al.

    A randomized school trial of environmental strategies to encourage fruit and vegetable consumption among children

    Health Educ Behav

    (2004)
  • H.B. Bueno De Mesquita et al.

    Intake of foods and nutrients and cancer of the exocrine pancreas: A population-based case-control study in the Netherlands

    Int J Cancer

    (1991)
  • J.H. Cohen et al.

    Fruit and vegetable intakes and prostate cancer risk

    J Natl Cancer Inst

    (2000)
  • P.C. Gupta et al.

    Dietary factors in oral leukoplakia and submucous fibroisis in a population-based case control study in Gujarat, India

    Oral Dis

    (1998)
  • M.G. Jain et al.

    Plant foods, antioxidants, and prostate cancer risk: Findings from case-control studies in Canada

    Nutr Cancer

    (1999)
  • Cited by (243)

    • USDA Summer Meals Programs: Meeting the Nutritional Needs of Children

      2024, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
    • Cooking Up Empowerment: Ingredients for Food Citizens Transformation

      2024, Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
    View all citing articles on Scopus

    B. A. Lorson is a registered dietitian, The Ohio State University, Columbus

    H. R. Melgar-Quinonez is an assistant professor, Department of Human Nutrition, The Ohio State University, Columbus

    C. A. Taylor is an assistant professor, Division of Medical Dietetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus

    View full text