Fruit and vegetable intakes of children and adolescents in the United States

S. M. Krebs-Smith, A. Cook, A. F. Subar, L. Cleveland, J. Friday and L. L. Kahle
National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the ways in which fruits and vegetables are consumed by children, to provide estimates of their intakes compared with recommendations, and to estimate the percentage of children meeting those recommendations. DESIGN: We examined 3 days of dietary data from respondents in the US Department of Agriculture's 1989-1991 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals. All foods reported in the survey were disaggregated into their component ingredients; all fruit and vegetable ingredients were assigned specific weights to correspond with a serving as defined by current dietary guidance materials; and the number of servings of each fruit and vegetable was tallied. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 3148 children and adolescents aged 2 to 18 years in the 48 conterminous United States. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Percentages of fruit and vegetable servings consumed in various forms, mean number of servings consumed per day, and percentage of persons meeting various recommendations by sex/age, race/ethnicity, and household income. RESULTS: Nearly one quarter of all vegetables consumed by children and adolescents were french fries. Their intakes of all fruits and of dark green and/or deep yellow vegetables were very low compared with recommendations. Only one in five children consumed five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day. CONCLUSION: Pediatricians should encourage the consumption of fruits and vegetables, especially dark green and deep yellow vegetables, by children.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Using Student-Produced Media to Promote Healthy Eating: A Pilot Study on the Effects of a Media and Nutrition Intervention
Tanner et al.
Science Communication 2008;30:108-125.
ABSTRACT  

School Food Environments and Policies in US Public Schools
Finkelstein et al.
Pediatrics 2008;122:e251-e259.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Association Between 100% Juice Consumption and Nutrient Intake and Weight of Children Aged 2 to 11 Years
Nicklas et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2008;162:557-565.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Assessment of Child and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity
Krebs et al.
Pediatrics 2007;120:S193-S228.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Ethnicity and Diet of Children: Development of Culturally Sensitive Measures
Bruss et al.
Health Educ Behav 2007;34:735-747.
ABSTRACT  

Exposure to Food Advertising on Television Among US Children
Powell et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2007;161:553-560.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Office-Based Motivational Interviewing to Prevent Childhood Obesity: A Feasibility Study
Schwartz et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2007;161:495-501.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Are Dietary Intakes and Eating Behaviors Related to Childhood Obesity? A Comprehensive Review of the Evidence
Newby
J Law Med Ethics 2007;35:35-60.
 

What Does the Epidemic of Childhood Obesity Mean for Children with Special Health Care Needs?
Minihan et al.
J Law Med Ethics 2007;35:61-77.
 

Australian parents' views on their 5-6-year-old children's food choices
Campbell et al.
HEALTH PROMOT INT 2007;22:11-18.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Evaluation of a Fruit and Vegetable Distribution Program--Mississippi, 2004-05 School Year
JAMA 2006;296:1833-1834.
FULL TEXT  

Short-term vegetable intake by young children classified by 6-n-propylthoiuracil bitter-taste phenotype
Bell and Tepper
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2006;84:245-251.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Implementation of a Family Intervention to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake: The Hi5+ Experience
Harrington et al.
Health Promot Pract 2005;6:180-189.
ABSTRACT  

Hi5+: Systematic Development of a Family Intervention to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake
Davies et al.
Health Promot Pract 2005;6:190-201.
ABSTRACT  

Public Health Strategies for Dietary Change: Schools and Workplaces
French
J. Nutr. 2005;135:910-912.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Childhood Obesity in New York City Elementary School Students
Thorpe et al.
Am. J. Public Health 2004;94:1496-1500.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

An Environmental Intervention to Promote Lower-Fat Food Choices in Secondary Schools: Outcomes of the TACOS Study
French et al.
Am. J. Public Health 2004;94:1507-1512.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Changes in Diet Quality of American Preschoolers Between 1977 and 1998
Kranz et al.
Am. J. Public Health 2004;94:1525-1530.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Impact of the Bienestar School-Based Diabetes Mellitus Prevention Program on Fasting Capillary Glucose Levels: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Trevino et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2004;158:911-917.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

School-Based Approaches to Affect Adolescents' Diets: Results From the TEENS Study
Lytle et al.
Health Educ Behav 2004;31:270-287.
ABSTRACT  

Fruits, Vegetables, Milk, and Sweetened Beverages Consumption and Access to a la Carte/Snack Bar Meals at School
Cullen and Zakeri
Am. J. Public Health 2004;94:463-467.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

"How Can We Stay Healthy when you're Throwing All of this in Front of Us?" Findings from Focus Groups and Interviews in Middle Schools on Environmental Influences on Nutrition and Physical Activity
Bauer et al.
Health Educ Behav 2004;31:34-46.
ABSTRACT  

Impact of Television Viewing Patterns on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Adolescents
Boynton-Jarrett et al.
Pediatrics 2003;112:1321-1326.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Availability, Accessibility, and Preferences for Fruit, 100% Fruit Juice, and Vegetables Influence Children's Dietary Behavior
Cullen et al.
Health Educ Behav 2003;30:615-626.
ABSTRACT  

Antioxidant Vitamins C and E Improve Endothelial Function in Children With Hyperlipidemia: Endothelial Assessment of Risk from Lipids in Youth (EARLY) Trial
Engler et al.
Circulation 2003;108:1059-1063.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Serum Total Homocysteine Concentrations in Children and Adolescents: Results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III)
Must et al.
J. Nutr. 2003;133:2643-2649.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Prevention of Pediatric Overweight and Obesity
Committee on Nutrition
Pediatrics 2003;112:424-430.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Association of the School Food Environment With Dietary Behaviors of Young Adolescents
Kubik et al.
Am. J. Public Health 2003;93:1168-1173.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Pricing Effects on Food Choices
French
J. Nutr. 2003;133:841S-843.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Serum carotenoid concentrations in US children and adolescents
Ford et al.
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2002;76:818-827.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Into the Mouths of Babes: The Diabetes Epidemic in Children
Levetan
Clin. Diabetes 2001;19:102-104.
FULL TEXT  

Child-reported family and peer influences on fruit, juice and vegetable consumption: reliability and validity of measures
Cullen et al.
Health Educ Res 2001;16:187-200.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Choose a Variety of Fruits and Vegetables Daily: Understanding the Complexities
Krebs-Smith and Kantor
J. Nutr. 2001;131:487S-501.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Applying Research and Theory in Program Planning: An Example from a Nutrition Education Intervention
Lytle and Perry
Health Promot Pract 2001;2:68-80.
ABSTRACT  

Role of dietary factors in ethnic differences in early risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes
Lindquist et al.
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2000;71:725-732.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Intakes of Vitamin C, Vegetables and Fruits: Which Schoolchildren Are at Risk?
Hampl et al.
J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 1999;18:582-590.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Cancer prevention and diet: Help from single nucleotide polymorphisms
Ames
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1999;96:12216-12218.
FULL TEXT  

Restricting access to palatable foods affects children's behavioral response, food selection, and intake
Fisher and Birch
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1999;69:1264-1272.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Patterns in Child and Adolescent Consumption of Fruit and Vegetables: Effects of Gender and Ethnicity across Four Sites
Reynolds et al.
J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 1999;18:248-254.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Influence of the Home Environment on the Development of Obesity in Children
Strauss and Knight
Pediatrics 1999;103:85e-85.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Micronutrient Deficiencies: A Major Cause of DNA Damage
AMES
Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1999;889:87-106.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Young Children
Dennison et al.
J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 1998;17:371-378.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Development of Eating Behaviors Among Children and Adolescents
Birch and Fisher
Pediatrics 1998;101:539-549.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Food Intakes of US Children and Adolescents Compared With Recommendations
Munoz et al.
Pediatrics 1997;100:323-329.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Excess Fruit Juice Consumption by Preschool-aged Children Is Associated With Short Stature and Obesity
Dennison et al.
Pediatrics 1997;99:15-22.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Enjoy your fruits and vegetables
Gillman
BMJ 1996;313:765-766.
FULL TEXT