New study on fruit and vegetable consumption in the US

Today the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the results of a new study called the State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009. This document summarizes data for fruit and vegetable consumption from multiple sources and, for the first time, breaks the results down by state. It also discusses policies and environmental supports that can make it easier for everyone to eat more fruits and vegetables.

The report lists the top states for fruit and vegetable consumption, and the bottom ones. It's interesting to note that most of the former group are blue states, while the latter group are the red states. Does this mean that Democrats care more about what they put in their bodies? Or is there some other explanation?

While all states are well below recommendations, those states doing a better job of eating their 2 or more fruit servings and 3 or more vegetable servings are, for adults:

District of Columbia - 20.1 percent
Vermont - 17.9 percent
Maine - 17.7 percent
Hawaii - 17.5 percent
New York - 16.5 percent
Massachusetts - 16.4 percent
Connecticut and New Hampshire - 16.2 percent (tie)
Arizona and California - 16.1 (tie)


Among the states most in need of improving fruit and vegetable consumption are (among adults):

Mississippi - 8.8 percent
Oklahoma and South Carolina - 9.3 percent (tie)
Alabama - 9.8 percent
South Dakota - 10.0 percent
West Virginia - 10.3 percent
Kansas - 10.6 percent
Kentucky and North Carolina - 10.8 percent (tie)
Arkansas and Missouri - 11.2 percent (tie)

(Taken from a press release from the Produce for Better Health Foundation.)