Vegetable and fruit consumption and its determinants in young Finnish adults

Background: The low consumption of vegetables and fruit among young adults is a growing universal concern. Objective: To examine determinants of vegetable consumption among young Finnish adults aged 25 to 34 years. Design: A questionnaire covering health behaviour, socio-economic status and food frequencies was sent to subjects in 1997 (participation rate 64%, n=1589). A 24-h recall was collected for a subsample of these participants. Results: Education, parental status, place of midday meal, perception of diet, physical activity, and smoking explained 21 % of habitual use of vegetables and fruit in women aged 25-29,29% in women aged 30-34 and 25% in men of both age groups. Frequent consumption of vegetables and fruit was associated with a higher vegetable and fruit intake in the 24-h recall. Conclusion: Effective strategies to increase consumption of vegetables and fruit are needed. Particularly young adults with low education, smokers or the physically inactive are at high risk for inadequate vegetables and fruit in their diets.