Study: Gender Link to Produce Deficiency

Despite constant pleas by health advocates to eat fruits and vegetables, daily consumption of produce among men remains low, U.S. researchers say.

Researchers at Columbia University, Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania and the National Cancer Institute said the study of 490 American and foreign-born black men between ages 45 and 70 finds the men ate an average of three servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend men eat nine servings per day. The researchers also find 94 percent of the participants in the study were not aware of the recommendations.

Compared with other racial groups, African-American men have higher incidence and mortality rates for many diet-related diseases, including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity and some cancers.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, suggests significant efforts will be needed to help black men, particularly immigrant black men, to realize the importance of increasing their fruit and vegetable consumption.

The lack of awareness of the current dietary recommendations related to fruits and vegetables is alarming and implores health experts to rethink how messages about diet and nutrition can reach this population, the researchers say in a statement.