90% of Americans Have Poor Diet; a Quarter Does Not Exercise, CDC Study Says

The recent data from a long-term study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that many American adults have a poor diet. Separate data from the CDC also show that 1/4 of the American adult population also do not exercise.

The health survey discusses that US adults meeting the intake recommendations for fruit and vegetables is low. In this survey, the CDC used the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System or BRFSS data to estimate how many US adults meet the recommended fruit and vegetable intake daily.

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What is BRFSS?

The said surveillance system is an annual, state-based survey regarding the health-related behaviors of adults aged 18 years and above. In BRFSS, a telephone survey is conducted, which is random-digit-dialed and is done among adults in the US and participating territories that are not institutionalized. The BRFSS has collected data on the fruit and vegetable consumption of the respondents since 1989, and the recent addition to the information assessed the frequency of their consumption of whole fruit, 100 percent fruit juice, potatoes, salads, and other vegetables within a day, week, or month.

Signs of Improvement?

Comparing this recent research update, according to the 2017 data of the CDC, 12.2 percent of American adults met the fruit intake recommendations versus the 12.3 percent of surveyed respondents in the recent update. In 2017, only 9.3 percent of adults met the recommended intake of vegetables, while 10 percent of Americans eat enough vegetables based on the vegetable intake recommendations.

This may be a slight increase from previous data. However, it shows that many Americans still fail to manage their health even after a very long time. Although various factors affect vegetable consumption during the pandemic worldwide, according to a study, the results reinforce the idea that a poor diet and physical inactivity are factors why hospitalizations are at an all-time high. Co-morbidities among American adults are pretty prevalent.

Inactive Americans

In a separate BRFSS data, the results show that the overall level of inactivity among Americans in 49 states and three territories (District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam) is at 25.3 percent. The respondents were asked through the BRFSS if they had any physical activity outside of their regular jobs. All participants who responded "No" were classified as inactive. Hispanic adults had the highest prevalence of physical inactivity at 32.1 percent, while the lowest physical inactivity was among non-Hispanic Asian adults at 20.1 percent.

Recommendations

It is estimated that adults need to eat around two to four cups of vegetables and 1.5 to 2.5 cups of fruits daily. A person also needs to have 150 minutes of moderate exercise weekly. The data collected estimated how these adult respondents fare compared to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. According to CDC, the low fruit and vegetable consumption and the prevalence of physical inactivity among US adults may be associated with the impact of COVID-19 on the health of Americans.

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