In 2019, 1 in 3 people (33%) in the EU reported not consuming any fruit or vegetables daily and only 12% of the population consumed the recommended 5 portions or more daily. On average, over half of the EU population (55%) said they ate between 1 and 4 portions of fruit and vegetables daily.
Among the EU Member States, the highest daily intake of 5 portions or more was reported in Ireland (33% of the population), the Netherlands (30%), Denmark (23%) and France (20%).
The lowest daily intake was found in Romania, where only 2% of the population ate at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables, followed by Bulgaria and Slovenia (both 5%) and Austria (6%).
Women’s daily intake of fruit and vegetables is higher than that of men: on average, 58% of women reported eating 1 to 4 portions compared to 51% for men. The same was true for a daily intake of 5 portions or more (15% vs 10%).
The survey also showed that more men than women reported skipping their fruit and vegetable intake altogether (39% vs 27%).
For more information:
- Eurostat dedicated section on health statistics
- Eurostat database on health statistics
- The data presented in this article comes from the third wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS). You can read more about the EHIS in the methodological Statistics Explained article.
O artigo foi publicado originalmente em Eurostat.