DAILY INTAKE OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

A balanced diet, including sufficient fruit and vegetables, reduces a person's risk of developing conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. The 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend a minimum number of serves of fruit and vegetables each day, depending on a person's age and sex, to ensure good nutrition and health[1]. More information about the guidelines is available in the Glossary.

In 2014-15, 49.8% of Australians aged 18 years and over met the guidelines for recommended daily serves of fruit (2 or more serves), while 7.0% met the guidelines for serves of vegetables (5-6 or more serves for men depending on age, and 5 or more for women). Only one in twenty (5.1%) adults met both guidelines. These rates were similar to 2011-12 (48.5%, 6.1% and 4.2% respectively).

Women were more likely to meet the guidelines than men. In 2014-15, 55.4% of women met the fruit guidelines and 10.2% met the vegetable guidelines, compared with 44.0% and 3.8% of men. In general, older people were more likely to meet the guidelines than younger people. Of people aged 65-74 years, 8.1% met both the fruit and vegetable intake guidelines, compared with only 3.2% of 18-24 year olds.




Serves of fruit and vegetables

On average, men aged 18 years and over consumed 1.6 serves of fruit and 2.3 serves of vegetables each day in 2014-15. Women of the same age consumed an average of 1.8 serves of fruit and 2.5 serves of vegetables.



2011-12 dietary recall information

In 2011-12, detailed dietary information was collected through a 24-hour recall of foods, beverages and supplements. For more information on dietary intakes see Australian Health Survey: Nutrition First Results - Foods and Nutrients (cat. no. 4364.0.55.007) and Australian Health Survey: Usual Nutrient Intakes (cat. no. 4364.0.55.008).

Further analysis using the 24-hour recall information from 2011-12 will assess Australians' usual intake of fruit and vegetables against the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines. This is scheduled for release in mid-2016.

ENDNOTES

1 National Health and Medical Research Council (2013) Australian Dietary Guidelines. Canberra: National Health and Medical Research Council. <https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/the_guidelines/n55_australian_dietary_guidelines.pdf >; last accessed 03/12/2015