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(January 30, 2012)

Eat what? Fruits and veggies!


A basket of fruits and vegetables
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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Mom and Dad might tell teens to eat their fruits and veggies. So what do teens do?

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researcher Sonia Kim saw an answer in national survey data:

``We found that 1 in 4 teens were eating fruit less than once a day, and 1 in 3 were eating vegetables less than once a day.’’  (6 seconds)

Teens should get the equivalent of four or five cups of fruits and vegetables a day – more if they’re physically active. A cup is about a medium apple or a large tomato.

Kim suggests parents keep more fruits and vegetables around the house, schools provide fruits and vegetables through meals, salad bars, and gardens, and teens reach for a fruit or vegetable more often.

The study was in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: January 30, 2012