Fruit and vegetable consumption among mid-age and older women in Australia

Fruits and vegetables are essential components of a healthy diet. However, only limited information is available about the fruit and vegetable intake of older women. This study describes the socio-demographic and health correlates of intake of fruit and vegetables among two large cohorts of Australian women - one group aged 50-55 years and one aged 79-84 years. Almost all women ate some amount of fruit and vegetables each day. In each cohort, around 8-9% of the women ate five or more serves of vegetables each day, and 30% ate four or more serves each day. In the Mid-age cohort, around 60% of the women ate two or more servings of fruit each day, and the corresponding proportion for the Older cohort was 70%. Around 7-8% of each cohort could be considered to eat the national recommended intake of two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables. Eating higher levels of fruit and vegetables was associated with country of birth, education, marital status, and with functional abilities and oral health. Longitudinal analyses describe trends in BMI, health-related quality of life and survival according to women's fruit and vegetable intakes