Poll: 39 percent of Ky. adults do not get recommended amount of fruits and vegetables in their diet

Half of those surveyed cited costs as an issue

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Feb. 20, 2014) — Nearly four in 10 – 39 percent – of Kentucky adults do not get the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables in their diet, according to poll data released today by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Interact for Health. Additionally, half of those surveyed said cost is an issue when they consider healthy fruit and vegetable options.

The 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest that half the plate should be fruits and vegetables, or about two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables per day.

KHIP highlights include: 

♦ Only four in 10 (39 percent) of Kentucky adults described their diet as healthy or very good.

♦ Just three in 10 (30 percent) of those with incomes at or below 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) report an excellent or very good diet; almost half (47 percent) with incomes above 200 percent of FPL indicated their diet to be excellent or very good.

♦ Less than one in four (23 percent) eat the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables each day; only one in ten (12 percent) meet the daily vegetable amount.

♦ Eight in 10 (81 percent) agreed with the statement that it is easy to purchase healthy diet options where they live; however, respondents from the Appalachian region were twice as likely as people from other parts of the state to disagree with the statement.

“Everyone agrees a healthy diet is essential for good health. Yet, Kentucky adults are not getting the fruits and vegetables they need for good health,” said Dr. Susan Zepeda, President/CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. “ KHIP data show cost and location can be significant factors in a person’s diet.”

KHIP was funded by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Interact for Health, formerly the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.  The poll was conducted Oct. 25 through Nov. 26 by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,551 adults from throughout Kentucky was interviewed by telephone, including landlines and cell phones.  The poll has a margin of error of ±2.5percent.