As a vegan, you may be more likely than your meat-eating friends to get your daily quota of fruits and vegetables. However, you may not. And it could be due to where you live, your marital status, gender, and education level. Here is new research on produce consumption from the Essentia Institute of Rural Health*.
As a vegan, you may be more likely than your meat-eating friends to get your daily quota of fruits and vegetables. However, you may not. And it could be due to where you live, your marital status, gender, and education level. Here is new research on produce consumption from the Essentia Institute of Rural Health*.
Surprise! Ruralites aren’t eating their fruits and veggies
Though rural folks live closer to where produce is grown, the Essentia study actually found that ruralites lag in fruit and veggie consumption compared to urban folks. The reason? Experts say cost is a big one.
Nawal Lutfiyya, PhD, lead author in the study explains, “You could be a rural person living next to a huge farm that produces fruits and vegetables and not have the means to buy them, so people in the city, who are farther removed from the source, tend to be more likely consumers.”
Parents not setting a good example
Another finding in the study is parents less likely to consume produce compared to adults without kids. Parents are passing on more than unhealthy eating habits, which has experts concerned for the health of our next generation and beyond.
“Adequate fruit and vegetable consumption reduces the risk for a number of diseases and early death,” says Dr Lutfiyya. “Our hope is that identifying groups that are at risk can lead to a better targeted public health interventions.”
Who is getting their produce quota?
Researchers found that women are more likely to eat the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables compared to men. Further, married folks eat more produce than singles, and people who are better educated and more economically stable are more likely in the produce aisle compared to those less educated and not as economically stable.
A healthy lifestyle betters your diet
One finding that isn’t surprising is that people who get at least moderate physical activity are more likely to get five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day, as were people with a lower body mass index.
*The Essentia Institute of Rural Health, based in Duluth, Minnesota, is a part of Essentia Health, a large non-profit health system serving primarily rural residents in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Idaho.
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