The daily intake of fruits and vegetables is still below recommended levels worldwide according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). This is despite numerous policy interventions to promote fruit and vegetable consumption. In a recent published review, researchers from the University of Sydney give an overview of some major campaigns in recent years that have aimed to promote an increase in fruit and vegetable intake. The review indicates that the impact of these initiatives was low to modest and makes recommendations as to how future campaigns could be more successful.
Large-scale surveys in Europe, the US and Australia have shown that the average intake of fruits and vegetables in the general population is much lower than the recommended 400 grams of fruit and vegetables per day (WHO). In order to address this challenge governmental authorities around the globe, often in collaboration with industry and non-profit organisations, have initiated information and education campaigns to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables. The review highlighted certain campaigns that were more successful in increasing consumption, while others were more successful in increasing awareness. Existing interventions have only led to a small to medium increase in the actual consumption of fruits and vegetables, which is not sufficient to meet the WHO recommendations.
The review distinguished between three categories of influencing factors on fruit & vegetable consumption, namely produce-related, distribution-related and consumer-related factors, and concluded that holistic approaches are more likely to result in sustainable behavioural change. Intensive long-term campaigns that communicate simple, unambiguous messages through many different channels and involve the whole family in an interactive way have been found to be more effective. Targeting specific groups of the population and ensuring support by other economic initiatives are elements which are expected to increase the effectiveness of future interventions. Interventions should aim at increasing consumption frequency rather than serving size.
For more information contact mike.neary@bordbia.ie
Source: BordBia – The Global Promotion of Fruit & Vegetables to Increase Consumption
