“For your health, eat at least five fruits and vegetables a day. Since 2001, the National Health Nutrition Program (PNNS) has been broadcasting this message in a number of food advertisements. And these little "slogans", easily remembered, seem to have a favorable impact on eating behavior, according to a study by Inpes. However, today, only one in four French people follow this recommendation of five fruits and vegetables a day. This is the finding highlighted by a survey conducted by the Crédoc (Research Center for the Study and Observation of Living Conditions) and released on Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Between 2007 and 2010, the proportion of adults ( 18 years and over) respecting the recommendation of five servings of fruits and vegetables per day went from 27% to 25%. Three quarters of the French population therefore care little or nothing about eating five fruits and vegetables a day...
But then, why does one in four French people shun fruits and vegetables when we know the benefits? Packed with vitamins, minerals and fibre, fruits and vegetables have a “protective effect against the main chronic pathologies”, recalls the Crédoc. Among the light consumers (i.e. less than 3.5 servings per day), we find in priority young people, who consume four times less than their grandparents. At issue:more urban lifestyles that encourage the younger generation to eat out more often but also more often in front of screens. This inevitably leads them to buy products that are easy to cook such as "pizzas, quiches, sandwiches, pasta or rice".
The survey also reveals that fruit and vegetable consumption differs according to cultural level and geographical area. Indeed, even if inequalities were greater in 2010, “children living in households where the head of the household has no diploma consume less than two servings of fruit and vegetables”. But where the disparities are the greatest concern the geographical area. In the North, people consume less fruit and vegetables compared to the South-West and South-East regions in particular, which benefit from abundant vegetable and fruit crops. To reduce these gaps, well-targeted public policies will be put in place soon to encourage the French to follow this recommendation.
Come on, with summer and its good seasonal products, we have no more excuses!
