Give peas a chance: most New Zealanders don’t eat recommended 5+ fruit and vegetables a day
Almost 3 in 4 New Zealanders don’t eat the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables, the latest data from Roy
Morgan Research shows—but we’re still doing better than Australians.
Around 1 in 3 NZ women and 1 in 5 NZ men eat three or more serves of vegetables and two or more serves of fruit each
day, the amount recommended by the Ministry of Health and promoted by the ‘5+ A Day’ campaign since 2007.
Over half of us succeed with the 2+ fruits, but vegetables are clearly more of a struggle with just 36% of Kiwis eating
3+ serves a day. However, another 27% eat two serves of vegetables—just one more carrot and you’re there!
Men especially need to boost up their vegetable intake, with women over 50% more likely to meet the 3+ target.
Proportion of Kiwis (and Australians) with the right daily fruit and vegetable intake:
Click for big version.
Sources: Roy Morgan Single Source (New Zealand), July 2013 – December 2013, n= 6142 New Zealanders 14+; Roy Morgan Single Source
(Australia), July 2013 – December 2013, n= 8985 Australians 14+
Just 6% of New Zealanders say they eat less than one serve of vegetables (including none), while 14% eat less than one
serve of fruit or none in a day.
Across the Tasman, average fruit and vegetable intake is well behind New Zealand, with just 1 in 5 Australians eating
the right amount of both. 70% of Australians don’t eat enough vegetables, and 58% don’t eat enough fruit.
Pip Elliott, General Manager, Roy Morgan Research NZ, says:
“Although the vast majority of us eat at least some fruit and vegetables every day, only around 1 in 4 New Zealanders
manage to meet the Ministry of Health’s intake recommendations.
“Eating the right amount of healthy produce need not be a chore. People who enjoy food from all over the world, who like
to try new foods, or who find the time and enjoy cooking are all more likely than average to eat 3+ serves of veggies
and 2+ of fruit each day."
Roy Morgan Research
Roy Morgan Research is Australia’s best known and longest established market research and public opinion survey company.
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