Four or more a day good news for Fruit & Vegitables

Advertisement

A recent survey carried out by the Health Promotion Unit of the Department of Health found that Irish people are eating more Fruit and Vegetables than they did five years ago. However, our intake of these healthy foods is still below the recommended Four or More portions a day. The survey found that on average three portions of Fruit and Vegetables are eaten daily. On behalf of the Health Promotion Unit of the Department of Health, Lansdowne Market Research surveyed a nationally representative sample of almost 1400 people aged 15+ from a wide range of social backgrounds.

Advertise

The survey concluded that:

1. the average number of portions of Fruit and Vegetables, including fruit juice, eaten on a normal day is three
2. 92% of those surveyed say they eat at least one portion of vegetables a day
3. 53% of the adults surveyed do not eat the recommended Four or More a day of Fruit/Fruit Juice and Vegetables
4. while appreciation of the health and nutritional benefits of Fruit and Vegetables is recognised, only 3 in 10 adults believe you should eat four or more portions per day
5. 1 in every 4 adults does not eat fruit (or drink fruit juice) daily
6. less than 1 in every 10 adults does not eat vegetables daily
7. 4% of those surveyed do not eat either Fruit or Vegetables or drink fruit juice on a daily basis
8. 6 in every 10 adults do not drink fruit juice daily
9. the main reason given by those who do not eat Fruit and Vegetables is that they don't like them
10. only 4% of those surveyed do not like Fruit or Vegetables
11. 41% of those who do not like eating fruit say they prefer to eat sweet or savoury snacks
12. only 12% of those who don't eat vegetables on a daily basis say cost is the reason
13. only 10% of those who don't eat fruit on a daily basis say cost is the reason
14. 1 in 2 adults believe Fruit and Vegetables are expensive although this isn't a major reason for not eating them
15. 1 in 5 adults believe vegetables are trouble to prepare
16. 1 in 2 adults believe that frozen vegetables and fruit are not as nutritious as fresh - which of course is not true.