How many adults are eating enough vegetables on an average day? Less than 10%, says the CDC—and that incredibly low number somehow manages to get even worse when you look at the state-by-state breakdown.
The CDC released its review of how America is doing at eating its fruits and vegetables, and the answer, it turns out, is almost comically bad. How much are we missing the mark by? The recommended amounts are two cups of fruit and three cups of vegetable. Americans were barely managing to eat one of each, let alone multiple cups. Even the states that are doing comparatively well and still doing a pretty terrible job—California was at the top of the pile with just 13% eating enough vegetables and 17% eating enough fruit.
Here are the numbers. Cut up an apple—and despair.
| State† | No. in sample§ | Median times consumed daily | % of respondents meeting recommendations¶ | ||||
| Fruit | Vegetables | ||||||
| Fruit | Vegetables | % | (95% CI) | % | (95% CI) | ||
| Overall | 373,580 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 13.1 | (12.0–14.2) | 8.9 | (5.8–12.0) |
| Alabama | 4,613 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 9.5 | (7.8–11.2) | 7.1 | (3.8–10.4) |
| Alaska | 3,825 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 13.5 | (11.4–15.6) | 10.5 | (6.2–14.8) |
| Arizona | 3,269 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 12.5 | (10.2–14.8) | 9.8 | (5.3–14.3) |
| Arkansas | 3,914 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 9.4 | (7.7–11.1) | 7.5 | (4.0–11.0) |
| California | 9,011 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 17.7 | (15.9–19.5) | 13.0 | (8.9–17.1) |
| Colorado | 10,583 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 14.1 | (12.5–15.7) | 10.1 | (6.4–13.8) |
| Connecticut | 5,956 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 14.8 | (12.9–16.7) | 8.7 | (5.1–12.3) |
| Delaware | 4,015 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 12.8 | (11.0–14.6) | 7.5 | (3.9–11.1) |
| District of Columbia | 3,719 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 15.2 | (12.9–17.5) | 9.2 | (4.7–13.7) |
| Florida | 25,902 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 14.8 | (13.2–16.4) | 9.6 | (6.3–12.9) |
| Georgia | 5,993 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 11.7 | (10.1–13.3) | 8.1 | (4.7–11.5) |
| Hawaii | 6,549 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 12.4 | (10.7–14.1) | 10.2 | (6.6–13.8) |
| Idaho | 4,518 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 12.3 | (10.3–14.3) | 8.9 | (4.9–12.9) |
| Illinois | 5,016 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 14.6 | (12.6–16.6) | 8.7 | (4.9–12.5) |
| Indiana | 7,821 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 11.4 | (9.9–12.9) | 7.3 | (4.0–10.6) |
| Iowa | 6,500 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 11.3 | (9.8–12.8) | 6.6 | (3.2–10.0) |
| Kansas | 18,535 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 10.4 | (9.2–11.6) | 8.3 | (5.0–11.6) |
| Kentucky | 6,959 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 9.5 | (8.0–11.0) | 7.1 | (3.7–10.5) |
| Louisiana | 3,839 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 9.8 | (8.0–11.6) | 6.9 | (3.3–10.5) |
| Maine | 6,697 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 14.5 | (12.7–16.3) | 9.6 | (6.4–12.8) |
| Maryland | 9,817 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 13.2 | (11.6–14.8) | 8.4 | (4.9–11.9) |
| Massachusetts | 11,295 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 14.2 | (12.6–15.8) | 9.4 | (5.9–12.9) |
| Michigan | 10,263 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 12.7 | (11.2–14.2) | 7.7 | (4.4–11.0) |
| Minnesota | 11,491 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 12.5 | (10.8–14.2) | 7.9 | (4.4–11.4) |
| Mississippi | 5,567 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 9.9 | (8.3–11.5) | 5.5 | (2.3–8.7) |
| Missouri | 5,435 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 10.5 | (8.9–12.1) | 7.8 | (4.2–11.4) |
| Montana | 8,023 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 12.2 | (10.6–13.8) | 9.2 | (5.6–12.8) |
| Nebraska | 14,004 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 12.3 | (10.7–13.9) | 8.3 | (4.8–11.8) |
| Nevada | 3,957 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 14.0 | (11.7–16.3) | 10.3 | (6.0–14.6) |
| New Hampshire | 5,040 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 14.8 | (12.8–16.8) | 9.9 | (6.3–13.5) |
| New Jersey | 9,812 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 13.4 | (11.9–14.9) | 8.3 | (5.0–11.6) |
| New Mexico | 7,326 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 12.1 | (10.5–13.7) | 10.0 | (6.0–14.0) |
| New York | 6,796 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 15.5 | (13.7–17.3) | 8.8 | (5.1–12.5) |
| North Carolina | 6,396 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 10.3 | (8.8–11.8) | 7.2 | (3.9–10.5) |
| North Dakota | 6,206 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 11.4 | (9.7–13.1) | 6.4 | (2.4–10.4) |
| Ohio | 9,285 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 11.3 | (9.8–12.8) | 7.1 | (3.9–10.3) |
| Oklahoma | 6,594 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 8.2 | (6.9–9.5) | 5.8 | (2.4–9.2) |
| Oregon | 4,556 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 14.5 | (12.5–16.5) | 11.0 | (7.1–14.9) |
| Pennsylvania | 8,756 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 12.7 | (11.1–14.3) | 7.5 | (4.3–10.7) |
| Rhode Island | 4,878 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 13.9 | (12.0–15.8) | 8.7 | (5.0–12.4) |
| South Carolina | 8,224 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 11.6 | (10.1–13.1) | 6.8 | (3.5–10.1) |
| South Dakota | 5,398 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 10.3 | (8.5–12.1) | 6.8 | (3.1–10.5) |
| Tennessee | 3,522 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 7.5 | (6.0–9.0) | 6.2 | (2.7–9.7) |
| Texas | 7,925 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 11.0 | (9.5–12.5) | 8.4 | (4.2–12.6) |
| Utah | 10,167 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 13.8 | (12.1–15.5) | 9.4 | (5.2–13.6) |
| Vermont | 5,136 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 14.5 | (12.6–16.4) | 10.8 | (7.3–14.3) |
| Virginia | 6,571 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 13.4 | (11.7–15.1) | 8.8 | (5.2–12.4) |
| Washington | 9,084 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 12.3 | (10.8–13.8) | 9.9 | (6.3–13.5) |
| West Virginia | 4,629 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 7.7 | (6.4–9.0) | 6.6 | (3.6–9.6) |
| Wisconsin | 5,212 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 12.7 | (10.8–14.6) | 7.5 | (3.6–11.4) |
| Wyoming | 4,981 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 11.9 | (10.1–13.7) | 9.4 | (5.5–13.3) |
Image: Aleksandar Mijatovi/Shutterstock.
