Not berry good! American adults are still skimping on eating fruits and vegetables - only 13 percent eat the recommended amount each day

  • The study was done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • It found just one in 10 adults eat the right amount of fruit and vegetables
  • The government recommends that adults eat 1½ to two cups of fruit a day
  • It also recommends that U.S. adults eat two to three cups of vegetables

By BELINDA ROBINSON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and AP

Published: | Updated:

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

But most American adults are still not eating enough fruits and vegetables, according to research.

In a large national survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only 13 percent said they ate the recommended amount of fruit each day. And only nine percent ate enough vegetables.

Temptation: Most American adults are still not eating enough fruits and vegetables, according to research

Temptation: Most American adults are still not eating enough fruits and vegetables, according to research

That equates to just one in 10 adults eating the right amount of fruit and vegetables per day. 

California — a big produce-growing state — ranked highest for eating both fruits and vegetables. Tennessee was at the bottom of the fruit list, and Mississippi was last in eating vegetables.

The government recommends that adults eat 1½ to two cups of fruit and two to three cups of vegetables each day.

Health officials have been trying to promote fruits and vegetables — especially leafy greens — as healthy alternatives to salty, fatty and sugary foods. 

However, the way people ate varies by state the report found. 

Choices: Health officials have been trying to promote fruits and vegetables as healthy alternatives to salty, fatty and sugary foods

Choices: Health officials have been trying to promote fruits and vegetables as healthy alternatives to salty, fatty and sugary foods

In Oregon those who ate enough vegetables was just 11 percent, in Tennessee it was 6.2 percent, in Oklahoma it was 5.8 percent and in Mississippi it was 5.5 percent.

And those who ate enough fruit varied widely depending on which state they lived in, the study found.

In California, at least 17.7 percent of people enjoyed fruits per day but in the Big Apple - New York - that dropped to just 7.5 percent. 

The CDC wants to curb the nation's obesity problem and reduce diabetes, heart disease and other maladies tied to bad diets.

The authors of the report are calling for more to be done to encourage healthier eating. 

They advised: 'Substantial new efforts are needed to build consumer demand for fruits and vegetables through competitive pricing, placement, and promotion in child care, schools, grocery stores, communities and worksites.'  

According to the study's lead author, Latetia Moore, an epidemiologist with the CDC's Obesity Prevention and Control Branch the amount of fruit and vegetable people ate was at a disappointingly low level.

The findings come from a 2013 national telephone survey of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

 

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