| HEALTH STATUS - Protective and Risk Factors |
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Guide Pyramid provides dietary guidelines for individuals aged two years and older on daily nutritional intake and reducing excessive fat consumption. The Food Guide Pyramid recommends at least 2-4 servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of vegetables daily, with more servings for very active individuals. Vegetables and fruit are low in fat and supply vitamins, minerals, fiber, and complex carbohydrates that help prevent high blood pressure, heart disease, certain cancers, stroke, and diabetes.
Data from the USDA indicate that the majority of American women in 1996 did not consume the Food Guide Pyramid's daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. In that year, 9 percent of U.S. adult women aged 20 years and older ate less than one serving of vegetables per day, and the USDA estimates that only 47 percent of women consumed the minimum daily requirement of at least three vegetable servings per day. In addition, only 26 percent of adult women ate the minimum recommended intake of two fruit servings per day, with nearly half of U.S. women receiving less than one serving of fruit daily.
U.S. adult women fared slightly worse than men in meeting these fruit and vegetable dietary guidelines. In 1996, men were more likely than women to consume three servings of vegetables per day and about equally as likely to consume two servings of fruit per day. Males were also slightly less likely than females to consume less than one serving of vegetables per day. However, a greater percentage of U.S. adult men were found to eat less than one serving of fruit per day than adult women.