Fruit and vegetables on prescription: a brief intervention in primary care

Abstract

28Background Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is a goal for the UK. Therefore, the 29

How much is ‘5‐a‐day’? A qualitative investigation into consumer understanding of fruit and vegetable intake guidelines

“…Another key finding from the FGs was that the majority of participants had trouble conceptualising a portion of different types of FV, which is a key skill required in understanding the ‘5‐a‐day’ message. This finding is consistent with previous studies conducted in the area . Participants generally found it more challenging to decipher the portions provided by FV that were not in the form of one whole food/piece, with some stating that this was the main reason why vegetables were often more difficult to determine in terms of portions compared to fruit.…”

Low fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with low knowledge of the details of the 5‐a‐day fruit and vegetable message in the UK: findings from two cross‐sectional questionnaire studies

“…We suspect that the relatively higher rates of awareness reported in Study 2 may be the result of a reporting bias, where individuals who were unaware of the message were simply less likely to return the (mostly incomplete) questionnaire and that population rates of awareness of the 5‐a‐day message are likely to be closer to 85% of the population as in Study 1. Levels of awareness of approximately 80–85% of the population have been reported previously both in the UK and elsewhere . This awareness is likely to have resulted from a variety of sources including Government campaigns (e.g.…”

“…This awareness is likely to have resulted from a variety of sources including Government campaigns (e.g. Change for Life; TV, billboard and magazine advertising; local health promotion campaigns in GP surgeries, schools and workplaces; and advertising campaigns in supermarkets and on food packaging) (11,(13)(14)(15)(16)18) . An association between awareness of the message or a FV message campaign and higher FV consumption has also been reported previously (15)(16)(17)20,21) .…”

“…The impacts of these population-wide promotional campaigns for consumption, however, appear limited (13)(14)(15)(16) . Populations appear largely aware of the campaigns (13,(15)(16)(17)(18)(19) and message awareness has been associated with improved consumption (15,17,20,21) but, despite the campaigns, population FV intakes in Europe, in the USA and across the world all remain low (15,(22)(23)(24)(25)(26) .…”

Impact of two policy interventions on dietary diversity in Ecuador

“…In the case of the UK, no conclusive results were found. In some cases changes in consumption or purchasing behaviour were not observed (15) , while in other cases both quantity and variety of food were improved by interventions based on vouchers (16,17) . There are cases in which more than one intervention was tested, usually including nutritional training or advice and the use of vouchers.…”