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Most Australians fail to eat the daily recommended vegetable intake

Lucy Cormack

Males, people under 45 years of age, those living in metropolitan areas and those from non-English speaking backgrounds have the lowest daily vegetable consumption in Australia, according to new research.

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In a study of 1000 Australian adults, researchers from the University of Sydney found only 6 per cent of respondents ate the recommended five serves or more of vegetables daily.

One serve of vegetables is described as 75 grams or about one cup of salad vegetables or half a cup of cooked vegetables.

Nutrition Australia encourages people to "eat the rainbow" when choosing their vegetables.
Nutrition Australia encourages people to "eat the rainbow" when choosing their vegetables. Photo: Theresa Ambrose

In contrast, more than 49 per cent of Australian adults meet the intake guidelines for fruit consumption.

"Fruit is easy to snack on, it's sweet, and we need only two serves a day," said study author Reetica Rekhy​, of the department of plant and food sciences at the University of Sydney.

"Of course some vegetables you can snack on but for many you need some kind of cooking skills. We find that cooking and convenience are the biggest barriers, for people who are on the go." 

The low consumption rate identified in the university study is in line with the Australian Bureau of Statistics' 2015 figure on vegetable intake, which states that only 7 per cent of Australians consume the recommended five serves daily.

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Surveying gender, age, education, regional spread, annual household income, number of children in the household and language background, the study found price, seasonality, freshness, perishability, quality, distribution channels, demographics and cooking skills were among the barriers to vegetable consumption in Australia.

"The groups with the lowest consumption were males, those aged under 45 years, living in metro cities and from non-English speaking backgrounds," Ms Rekhy said.

"We find that cooking and convenience are the biggest barriers [to vegetable consumption]": Reetica Rekhy, the author of ...
"We find that cooking and convenience are the biggest barriers [to vegetable consumption]": Reetica Rekhy, the author of a study conducted by the department of plant and food sciences at the University of Sydney. Photo: Louise M Cooper

Women, people aged 45 years or over, and resident of non-metropolitan areas were found to be the most likely groups to consume close to the recommended daily intake of vegetables, but still not enough.

For males and females, the majority of people ate one to two, or two to four serves of vegetables daily.

Reetica Rekhy says better product labelling is needed to educate and encourage consumers to eat more vegetables.
Reetica Rekhy says better product labelling is needed to educate and encourage consumers to eat more vegetables. Photo: Louise M Cooper

Respondents were questioned on the perceived health benefits of the 20 most popular vegetables purchased in Australia, including asparagus, beetroot, carrots, peas and zucchini.

The overall results of the study suggest that the link between health benefits and vegetables is weak for most consumers including the well-educated cohorts.

"For most vegetables the understanding was relatively low among consumers. Half the respondents could not name any benefits for 18 of the 20 vegetables."

Ms Rekhy said people are often able to name the nutrient content of a vegetable, such as iron or protein, but most cannot name specific body-specific benefits, like "good for the brain and nervous system, good for the heart and immune system or good for bones and joints".

"We see the breakfast cereal industry ... if they have blueberries as an ingredient in their cereal, it might be a very small component of the cereal, but they advertise it on the packet with health benefits," Ms Rekhy said.

"The fresh produce industry does not promote themselves at all through this sort of messaging or symbols ... We think more product labelling and instore information could take place to educate consumers."

However, it is not just Australia's low vegetable intake that needs addressing, said Aloysa Hourigan​, senior nutritionist for Nutrition Australia, which marks National Nutrition Week this week.

"Australians get 35 per cent of their total energy intake from discretionary foods, those with not many nutrients but a lot of fat, sugar and salt," she said.

"Only 1 per cent of kids and teens are eating the recommended amount of vegetables each day ... the problem is that those discretionary foods are displacing the vegetables in diets."