Can do better. This is the message sent implicitly by the Research Center for the Study and Observation of Living Conditions (Crédoc) in a study on the consumption of fruit and vegetables by the French, made public on Tuesday 11 July. The refrain of “5 fruits and vegetables a day” launched in 2001 by the National Health Nutrition Program in France is less successful, notes the Credoc, with supporting figures. Previously well integrated by consumers, the public health recommendation has been less followed since the economic crisis passed through it. Between 2007 and 2010 the rate of French people scrupulously respecting the recommendation of 5 fruits and vegetables increased from 27 to 31%. Then it plummeted: in 2013 and 2016, it fell to 25%.
A sign of this relative lack of interest in these foods, which are important for their vitamins, minerals and fiberand their protective effect against the main chronic pathologiesthe proportion of small consumers has swelled: in 2016, 54% of French people ate less than 3.5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day.
Worse, the share of very low consumers (less than two servings per day) went from 32% in 2010 to 45% in 2016.
What about children? Here too, the figures are not brilliant. “Only 6% consume more than five servings of fruits and vegetables per day”.
Worrying food fractures
The economic upturn in 2016 did not result in a new enthusiasm for fruit and vegetables on the plate: “In 2016, despite the recovery, we have never had so few major consumers of fruit and vegetables, whether in children or adults”, continues the Credoc. The document provides information on the “typical profile” of French people who respect this recommendation the least: they are “individuals living in families with two or more children, with very few qualifications and living more in the northern half of France. In the underprivileged categories, overweight and obesity are increasing again in 2016, among adults as well as among children”.
“The implementation of targeted and local public policies is more necessary than ever to reduce food divides as quickly as possible”, concludes the Credoc.
75% of French people (especially young people and large families) do not follow the recognition #PNNS to consume 5 #fruits and #vegetables per day @credoc
— Gabriel Tavoularis (@gtavoularis) July 10, 2017
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