ResearchResearch and Professional BriefCorrelates of Fruit and Vegetable Intakes in US Children
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
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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