Factors associated with vegetable and fruit intake among adolescents with overweight and obesity in Selangor from 2020 to 2021.

This article is based on discussions of the lung cancer panel at the Hohenheim Consensus Meeting organized by the World Health Organization and the German Ministry of Health in November 1996. Panel members were international experts in the field of diet and cancer who discussed specific questions relating to lung cancer risk factors and prevention.

Vegetable and fruit intake in Australian adolescents: Trends over time and perceptions of consumption

Systematic review and meta-analysis of school-based interventions to improve daily fruit and vegetable intake in children aged 5 to 12 y

The relationship between Fruit and vegetable intake and frailty: Data from NHANES 2007–2018

Fruit and vegetable intake is inversely associated with cancer risk in many epidemiological studies. Accurate assessment of consumption of these foods is difficult, and biomarkers of intake would overcome several drawbacks of currently used dietary assessment methods. Therefore, we investigated the relation between plasma carotenoids and usual vegetable and fruit intake. Plasma carotenoid concentrations were measured and vegetable, fruit and juice consumption was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) in a random sample of 591 Dutch men and women aged 20-59 y from the MORGEN-project, one of the contributions to the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-study. In this sample of the general Dutch population, in both genders, relative to the other carotenoids, plasma beta-cryptoxanthin was the best indicator for fruit intake, and for the sum of vegetable, fruit and juice intake, while lutein concentrations best reflected intake of vegetables, although quartiles of intake were not consistently separated. Since levels of lycopene were not associated with any of the main food groups examined, associations with total carotenoids improved when excluding lycopene, and monotonously increasing plasma levels were seen for intakes of vegetables, of fruits, and of the sum of vegetables, fruits and juices. Several vegetable types and orange/grapefruit juice were associated with plasma levels of one of the carotenoids. Plasma carotenoids were only crude indicators of vegetable and fruit intake as assessed by a FFQ; beta-cryptoxanthin for fruit intake and lutein for vegetable intake. None of the plasma carotenoids could distinguish all four quartiles of vegetables, fruit and/or juice intake.

Fruit, Vegetables, and Folate: Cultivating the Evidence for Cancer Prevention

OBJECTIVE: Thhis study aimed to investigate the reason why people choose to consume less vegetable and fruit through examining how the stage of change and psycho-social parameters relate to vegetable and fruit intake.
 
 METHODS: We carried out a cross-sectional study in 4 regions of Japan in which 2308 individuals (1012 men and 1296 women) aged 18 years or older who completed the questionnaires were included in the study.
 
 RESULTS: The results showed 56% of the participants were in the precontemplation stage (not thinking about consuming recommended amount of fruit and vegetable) and their average amounts of vegetable and fruit intake were far below the level of current recommendations, and subjects in the precontemplation stage showed lower scores of attitude and self efficacy. Men were more likely to be in precontemplation (67.7%) and less likely to be in action/maintenance stage (7.9%) than women (46.9%, 12.1%, respectively) (p < 0.001). We also observed the scores of attitude (p = 0.06) and self-efficacy (p < 0.01) rose as the stage went up from the precontemplation to action/maintenance for increasing vegetable and fruit intake. Moreover, a linear trend was found toward higher vegetable (p < 0.05) and fruit (p = 0.121) intake from precontemplation to action/maintenance stage.
 
 CONCLUSION: The present evidence suggests more attention should be focused on strategy for perceptions of personal need for recommended amount of vegetable and fruit intake for those who are in the precontemplation stage. Moreover, effective programs on enhancement of self-efficacy and attitude toward vegetable and fruit consumption are needed for increasing the vegetable and fruit intake.

Does Lowering Fat Intake in Children's Diets Result in Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Intake?: Data from the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH)

The aim of the paper was to study the relationship between dietary intake of fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of coronary heart disease. We used data from a case-control study, conducted from 2001 to 2003, among 290 randomly selected cases (mean age 59.98 +/- 10.03 years) with first event of an acute coronary syndrome and 290 selected paired controls by sex, age and region (mean age 59.43 +/- 10.10 years), admitted to the same hospitals as cases without any suspicion of coronary disease. Using questionnaires, we assessed fruit and vegetable intake and estimated odds ratio of developing coronary heart disease by the intake. The benefit of fruit or vegetable consumption increased proportionally by the number of servings consumed (p for trend < 0.0001). Those in the upper tertile of fruit consumption (> 5 items/day) had 60% lower risk for coronary heart disease (odds ratio= 0.56, 95% CI = 0.35-0.89, p < 0.05), when compared to those in the lowest tertile (<1 item/day). Consumption of vegetable >3 items/day was associated with 70% lower risk of coronary heart disease (OR = 0.25, 95% CI = 0.09 - 0.66, p < 0.05), compared to subjects who did not consume vegetables. In agreement with previous studies, we found an inverse relation between vegetable and fruit intake and coronary heart risk. Consumption of fruits and vegetables seemed to provide significant protection against coronary heart disease.

The healthy nutrition guidelines proposed by international research institutes and the World Health Organization recommend a daily intake of fruit and vegetables of at least 400 g, representing five servings a day (each serving contains around 80 g). Moreover, the recommendations stress the importance of consuming both fruit and vegetables daily, preferably at least two portions of fruit and three portions of vegetables per day. To efficiently develop interventions for promoting fruit and vegetable consumption among children, it is essential to identify and understand the factors that influence these behaviours. The present study aims at identifying the individual and familial factors which influence fruit and vegetable consumption among Romanian children. A cross-sectional survey by means of anonymous questionnaires was conducted among 361 school children, aged 11-14, from Cluj-Napoca, Romania (April-May 2011). Multiple linear regression analyses were used to assess the correlates of fruit and vegetable intake. The results show that 44.6% of the children met the recommendations regarding fruit intake, while 9.1% of the children declared eating the daily recommended portions of vegetables. Knowledge regarding the recommended number of daily servings and higher self-efficacy concerning the intake of fruit and vegetables every day were positively associated with higher consumption of fruit and vegetables. Fruit preference also influenced positively the consumption of fruit. The familial factor associated with vegetable intake was the perceived behaviour of the mother, while fruit intake was higher among children who declared higher fruit availability at home. Hence, it is necessary to develop in Romania nutrition interventions addressing the determinants of fruit and vegetable intake as identified by this study; these interventions should target both children and parents.

Nutrition education effective in increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among overweight and obese adults

Fruit and vegetable intake as well as physical activity participation in Mississippi is consistently lower than recommendations. We conducted a cross-sectional study to examine fruit and vegetables consumption, fat intake, and moderate-intensity physical activity participation and how these variables relate to socio-demographic factors among medically underserved adults in south Mississippi. Fruit and vegetable consumption and fat intake along with physical activity participation and socio-demographic characteristics was collected from a sample of 161 (48 male and 113 female) adults in south Mississippi. A majority (81.9%) of participants reported consuming less than five servings of fruits and vegetables per day and 54% reported exercising less than three times a week. Only 14% of participants reported eating a low fat diet. Bivariate correlations revealed no significant relationships between fruit and vegetable consumption and fat intake as well as no significant relationships between fruit and vegetable consumption and gender, ethnicity, income, marital status, or education. However, there were significant correlations between physical activity and fat intake (r = -0.21, p = 0.01), and physical activity with fruit and vegetable consumption (r = 0.16, p = 0.05). Higher physical activity rates were associated with decreased fat intake and increased fruit and vegetable consumption. Physical activity was also higher among men (r = -0.16, p = 0.05) and positively correlated with income level (r = 0.21 p = 0.01). In order to effectively identify or develop strategies to improve health by promoting increased fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity, further research is needed to understand the factors that affect behavior choices regarding nutrition and physical activity in this medically underserved adult population.

Fruit and vegetable intake may improve sleep. To assess the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and sleep quality in a longitudinal study. We analysed longitudinal data from two consecutive population surveys of adults in Agincourt, South Africa (2014-2015 and 2018-2019). In total, 331 of 2975 participants without poor sleep quality in Wave 1 (11.1%) had incident poor sleep quality in Wave 2, and 270 of 3546 participants who had poor sleep quality in Wave 1 (7.6%) had poor sleep quality in both Waves 1 and 2 (persistent poor sleep quality). The prevalence of poor sleep quality at baseline was 17.2%. In the fully adjusted model for people without poor sleep quality at baseline, higher fruit and vegetable consumption (≥5 servings/day) was positively associated with incident poor sleep quality among men (AOR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.51-2.01) but not among women (AOR = 1.09, 95% CI 0.78-1.46). Two or more servings of fruits were positively associated with incident poor sleep quality among men (AOR = 3.35, 95% CI 1.96-5.72) and among women (AOR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.15-2.94). No models among men and women showed a significant association between vegetable intake and incident poor sleep quality or between fruit and vegetable intake, vegetable intake and persistent poor sleep quality. Fruit intake (one serving) was positively associated with persistent poor sleep quality among men (AOR = 1.76, 95% CI 1.00-3.08) but not among women (AOR = 1.42, 95% CI 0.93-2.18). Higher fruit and vegetable intake was independently associated with poorer sleep quality among men but not women, and higher fruit but not vegetable intake was associated with poorer sleep quality among both men and women.

The objective of the present study was to assess to what extent fruit and vegetable intakes track over a 24-year time period and to assess longitudinal associations between fruit and vegetable intakes and (change in) BMI and sum of skinfolds. Dietary intake and anthropometrics were repeatedly assessed for 168 men and women between the ages of 12 and 36 years. Linear general estimating equations analyses were applied (1) to estimate tracking coefficients, (2) to estimate predictability for meeting the national recommendation for fruit and vegetable intake and for being in the highest quartile for fruit and vegetable intake, and (3) to estimate the association between fruit and vegetable intake and BMI and sum of skinfolds. We found that tracking coefficients were 0.33 (P < 0.001) for fruit intake and 0.27 (P < 0.001) for vegetable intake. Mean fruit intake decreased over a 24-year period. For fruit intake, predictability was higher in men than in women (OR 6.02 (P < 0.001) and 2.33 (P = 0.001) for meeting the recommendation for men and women respectively). After adjustment, fruit intake was not associated with BMI, but being in the lowest quartile of fruit intake was significantly associated with a lower sum of skinfolds. Women in the lowest quartiles of vegetable intake had significantly higher BMI and sum of skinfolds and also greater positive changes in these parameters. In conclusion, tracking and predictability for fruit and vegetable intake appear to be low to moderate, which might indicate that fruit and vegetable promotion should be started at an early age and continued into adulthood. Despite the fact that we only observed beneficial weight-maintaining effects of vegetable intake in women, promoting vegetables is important for both sexes because of other positive properties of vegetables. No evidence was found for promoting fruit intake as a means of weight maintenance.

In Mexico, the 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey estimated that 65.6% of the schoolchildren aged 5-11 years has inadequate intake of fruits and vegetables. This study was conducted to validate and determine the reproducibility of a short Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) designed to measure changes in fruit and vegetable intake in schoolchildren from Northwest Mexico. To the development of the FFQ, a total of 249 Dietary Recalls (24HR) were collected from 189 schoolchildren. To evaluate validity and reproducibility, two non-consecutive 24HR (as reference method) and two FFQ were collected from 124 schoolchildren. They were randomly divided into two groups: intervention (62) used for reproducibility and control (62) to evaluate validity. The intervention group received a program that promotes consumption of fruits and vegetables for a period of 6 months. Spearman correlations, Wilcoxon test and Bland-Altman plots were used to assess validity. Reproducibility statistics included Spearman correlations, Percent agreement and Weighted Kappa (κw) test and Bland-Altman plot. For validity, the mean intake estimated did not differ significantly for vegetable and the combined vegetable and fruit but it was different in fruit intake. There was a moderate correlation between FFQ1 and the 24HR to estimate the consumption of fruit or vegetable (r = 0.38, r = 0.48) and improves for fruit and vegetables combined (r = 0.69) and the bland and altman plot, showed a homogeneous dispersion of points around the line of the differences for the consumption of fruit and vegetable. For FFQ reproducibility the spearman coefficient values ranged from 0.47 for fruit intake to 0.73 for vegetable and fruit combined intake. Cross-classification between the two methods showed that &gt; 30% of subjects were classified correctly and the κw ranged between 0.425 for fruit to 0.605 for vegetable and fruit, indicating from moderate to substantial level of agreement. The results on validation and reproducibility indicate that the two methods (FFQ and 24HR) give similar results. Food frequency questionnaire has validity and reproducibility to evaluate intake of fruit and vegetable in schoolchildren from northwest Mexico, and can be used to evaluate changes in fruit and vegetable intake on intervention programs, specially aimed to increase the consumption of such food.