Fruit & vegetables

Fruit and vegetable consumption

The consumption of fruit and vegetable is very low in the European countries. The recommendations (5 and 3 times/day) were reached by less than 16% and 50% of the children, respectively, even in the countries with the highest consumption of fruits and vegetables. Fruit and vegetable consumption was not associated with overweight or obesity in the cross-sectional analysis. The detailed analysis of the 24-h dietary recall (SACINA) will provide further information concerning the association of fruit and vegetable intake with obesity as well as concerning the recommended frequency and quantity of intake.

On the basis of the available measurements, we can only state that plant food consumption should be promoted in Europe since its consumption is low and it is the main contributor to a well-balanced diet.

Among many others, following recent articles from the study show further results on dietary behaviour:

  • Hebestreit A, Barba G, De Henauw S, Eiben G, Hadjigeorgiou C, Kovacs E, et al. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between energy intake and BMI z-score in European children. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2016;13(1):23.
  • Börnhorst C, Huybrechts I, Hebestreit A, Krogh V, De Decker A, Barba G, et al. Usual energy and macronutrient intakes in 2-9-year-old European children. Int J Obes (Lond). 2014;38 Suppl 2:S115-23.
  • Fernandez-Alvira JM, Bammann K, Pala V, Krogh V, Barba G, Eiben G, et al. Country-specific dietary patterns and associations with socioeconomic status in European children: the IDEFICS study. EurJClinNutr. 2014;68(7):811-21.
  • Hebestreit A, Börnhorst C, Pala V, Barba G, Eiben G, Veidebaum T, et al. Dietary energy density in young children across Europe. Int J Obes (Lond). 2014;38 Suppl 2:S124-34.
  • Tognon G, Moreno LA, Mouratidou T, Veidebaum T, Molnar D, Russo P, et al. Adherence to a Mediterranean-like dietary pattern in children from eight European countries. The IDEFICS study. Int J Obes (Lond). 2014;38 Suppl 2:S108-14.
  • Hebestreit A, Börnhorst C, Barba G, Siani A, Huybrechts I, Tognon G, et al. Associations between energy intake, daily food intake and energy density of foods and BMI z-score in 2-9-year-old European children. Eur J Nutr. 2014;53(2):673-81.