Fruit and vegetable servings in ten SENECA towns and the impact of the midday meal.
OBJECTIVE
Assessing fruit, vegetable and potato servings in relation to meal pattern.


METHODS
Longitudinal study including dietary assessment in 1988/9 and 1993.


METHODS
10 small European towns. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Counting the number of fruit, vegetable and potato servings in dietary records of 1275 men and women born 1913 to 1918.


RESULTS
In the northern towns less than 12% of the subjects consumed 5 or more fruit and vegetable servings and up to 84% consumed only 2 or less servings per day. In the southern towns more than 30% consumed 5 or more servings and less than 20% had only 2 or less servings per day. In 9 of 10 towns a cooked meal at midday contained more fruit and vegetable servings than a cooked meal eaten in the evening. The weight of one serving as calculated from the regression line was 137 g for fruit, 145 g for vegetables and 196 g for potatoes. A significant relationship was found between antioxidant status and vegetables with regard to the number of servings but not to the intake in gram.


CONCLUSIONS
RESULTS strengthen the hypothesis that a cooked meal at midday mediated a healthier diet than a cooked meal in the evening. Number of fruit and vegetable servings is a more accurate indication of diversity in vegetable consumption than intake in gram.
Schlettwein-Gsell
D
D
Institüt für experimentelle Gerontologie, Basel, Switzerland. daniela.schlettwein@bluewin.ch
Brubacher
D
D
Schroll Bjornsbo
K
K
Inelmen
E M
EM
Haller
J
J
van Staveren
W
W
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000032:analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015930:Diet Records; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005060:Europe; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D011198:Solanum tuberosum; D014675:Vegetables
D000975:Antioxidants