title: Who are eating and not eating fruits and vegetables in Malaysia?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the roles of sociodemographic factors in fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption in Malaysia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data are obtained from the Malaysia Non-Communicable Disease Surveillance-1. Logistic regressions are conducted using a multiracial (Malay, Chinese, Indian and other ethnic groups) sample of 2,447 observations to examine the factors affecting individual decisions to consume FV on a daily basis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Based on the binary outcomes of whether individuals consumed FV daily, results indicate that work hours, education, age ethnicity, income, gender, smoking status, and location of residence are significantly correlated with daily fruit consumption. Daily vegetable consumption is significantly correlated with income, gender, health condition, and location of residence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results imply the need for programs to educate and motivate consumers to make healthier dietary choices. Interventions to increase FV consumption by changing behaviors should be considered, as should those that increase public awareness of the dietary benefits of FV. These intervention programs should be targeted at and tailored toward individuals who are less educated, younger, less affluent, males, smokers, and metropolitan dwellers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-4518, USA. syen@utk.edu
authors.forename: Steven T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Yen
authors.forename: Andrew K G
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012424:Rural Population; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D014675:Vegetables