This issue of Public Health Nutrition continues in its tradition of offering a broad range of topics, ranging from social-contextual influences on food habitsReference Roos, Sarlio-Lähteenkorva, Lalluka and Lahelma1 to the association between dietary intake and health-related biomarkersReference Bermejo, Aparicio, Andrés, López-Sobaler and Ortega2 or outcomesReference Randi, Pelucchi, Gallus, Parpinel, Dal Maso and Talamini3 to methodological problems in assessment of dietary intakeReference Rasmussen, Matthiessen, Biltoft-Jensen and Tetens4–Reference Schlundt, Buchowski, Hargreaves, Hankin, Signorello and Blot5. A common theme of several of the papers published in this issue, however, is fruit and vegetable intake.
Among cohorts of 9–10-year old children surveyed throughout Liverpool, Johnson and Hackett found increases in fruit, vegetable and salad intakes over the five-year period between 2000 and 2005Reference Johnson and Hackett6. Although the proportions of children reporting vegetable and salad consumption were generally low, the upward trends are still promising. Factors contributing to these positive trends remain unclear, but also in this issue Baranowski et al. offer their work on scales to assess parents' outcome expectancies for purchasing fruits and vegetablesReference Baranowski, Watson, Missaghian, Broadfoot, Baranowski and Cullen7. Their research is a step towards clarifying the factors that motivate parents to have fruits and vegetables available in the home, with natural implications for their children's habitual intake of these foods. Whether and how schools might also have a positive impact on children's fruit and vegetable intake is addressed in an article by Mangunkusumo et al. Reference Mangunkusumo, Brug, de Koning, van der Lei and Raat8. They found that an Internet-based, tailored feedback and counselling intervention improved knowledge and awareness of fruit and vegetable intake to some extent, but not actual intake, suggesting that other, more comprehensive approaches would be needed in a school setting.
In examining determinants of fruit and vegetable intake among adults, Crawford et al. examined a unique set of behaviours in a sample of women and discovered that forward-planning and enjoyment of the meal process were associated with higher fruit and vegetable intake, while food-related behaviours indicating less time and thought set aside for meals were associated with lower intakeReference Crawford, Ball, Mishra, Salmon and Timperio9. Fruit and vegetable intake in their sample was low overall, consistent with other samples, and many of the behaviours associated with high intake of these foods were not widely practised. Nevertheless, their findings suggest some strategies for encouraging their intake, beginning with an attitudinal shift towards developing a good relationship with one's meals.
Lassen et al. examined à la carte versus buffet-style cafeterias at worksites and found that eating at buffet-style cafeterias was associated with greater intake of fruits and vegetables and with lower energy density of the foodReference Lassen, Hansen and Trolle10. Eating buffet style was also associated with consumption of a larger portion size compared with eating à la carte, but only among women. Further, because of lower energy density associated with eating in buffet-style cafeterias, energy intake was similar between the two meal serving systems. Their findings are surprising given the potential for overeating that buffets seem to offer, and they provide reason for optimism that people do choose the right foods when given the choice. Whether this has implications for eat-out food behaviours in general remains to be seen.
Overall, these articles provide a picture of where we are in our knowledge of the status of fruit and vegetable intake in public health nutrition. It is on the rise, at least in some samples, and when fruits and vegetables are available (and presumably, presented as an attractive option), people will choose to eat them. The bad news, of course, is that consumption remains generally quite low. So the question remains: how to encourage people of all ages to eat more of them? The authors in this issue suggest a variety of possible strategies to pursue, including increasing availability at home and in cafeterias, and altering attitudes and behaviours towards the meal process, from food shopping to meal preparation to the meal itself. Ultimately, we are working towards the goal of viewing fruits and vegetables as crucial and primary components of our diets, rather than as food items that must be eaten in order to meet a five-a-day quota.
