Awareness of the Fruits and Veggies—More Matters campaign, knowledge of the fruit and vegetable recommendation, and fruit and vegetable intake of adults in the 2007 Food Attitudes and Behaviors (FAB) Survey

Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is recommended to reduce chronic disease risk. Few studies have examined awareness of the current fruit and vegetable campaign in the United States, Fruits and Veggies—More Matters. This study assessed awareness of the Fruits and Veggies—More Matters campaign and knowledge of the 7–13 serving recommendation for fruit and vegetable consumption among adults, and determined whether these were associated with fruit and vegetable intake. Cross-sectional data from 3021 adults in the United States’ National Cancer Institute’s 2007 Food Attitudes and Behaviors Survey were analyzed. Few participants were aware of the Fruits and Veggies—More Matters campaign (2%) and the 7–13 recommendation (6%) for adults. More participants were aware of the former 5 A Day campaign (29%) and recommendation (30%). Thirty-nine percent reported consuming ⩾5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Participants were more likely to consume ⩾5 servings of fruits and vegetables/day if they were aware of the 5 A Day/Fruits and Veggies—More Matters campaign, and reported that the recommendation for adults was ⩾5 servings/day. Findings suggest the need to increase awareness of the Fruits and Veggies—More Matters campaign, and the 7–13 recommendation among adults to support high fruit and vegetable intake.

► Few adults know the current fruit and vegetable campaign and recommendation.
► Awareness of the campaign is associated with fruit and vegetable intake.
► Knowledge of the recommendation is associated with fruit and vegetable intake.
► Findings suggest need to increase awareness of the campaign and recommendation.