Correspondence of self–reported fruit and vegetable intake with dietary intake data

The association between greater fruit and vegetable intake and better health outcomes is now well established, and dietary guidelines and recommendations promote increased intake of fruit and vegetables. The correspondence of self–assessed change in, and adequacy of, fruit and vegetable intake with dietary intake data was investigated using data from a food frequency questionnaire administered in 1989 and again in 1992 to 453 randomly selected adults from Dalby, Queensland. There was some accuracy in self–reported increased intake of fruit for women, although the dietary data for 44 per cent of women who reported an increase in intake did not show such an increase. Self–reported increased intake did not correspond with dietary data for men or for vegetable intake for women. Self–assessed adequacy of fruit and vegetable intake was associated significantly with mean intake and intake frequency data. The association was stronger for men for fruit and for women for vegetables. Nonetheless, high percentages of people who consumed less than two servings of fruit or three servings of vegetables daily assessed their intake as ‘about right’. There is a need for clear, consistent and widely promoted messages recommending intake of two fruit and five vegetable servings daily to increase awareness of the amounts of fruit and vegetables Australians should consume.