The cost of low consumption

Vegetables and fruit have repeatedly been shown to protect against heart disease, strokes and high blood pressure (World Health Organization 2003a). There is also evidence that fresh produce protects against cancers of the mouth, larynx, pharynx, oesophagus and stomach. These studies have also cited fruit as an effective protector from lung cancer (World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research 2007).

In 2003 the Ministry of Health released a report on ‘Nutrition and the Burden of Disease’, which revealed some grave facts. If all New Zealanders ate 5+ serves of fruit and vegetables daily, there would be approximately 1558 fewer deaths in the country each year. The report illustrated that a diet containing too little fruit and vegetables will contribute to about 6% of all deaths.

To put this in perspective, these statistics show that 1558 people could be still enjoying time with their families. Furthermore, there are many people who have the potential to feel much healthier if they ate the recommended 5+ serves a day. Eating more fruit and vegetables is one of the simplest and most economical ways to prevent these deaths. People find it easy to get incensed about New Zealand’s horrific road toll (about 500), but perhaps it is time to put this same amount of energy into the fruit and vegetable toll.