According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help protect against a number of serious and costly chronic diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and obesity. Few adults meet fruit and vegetable intake recommendations. In Connecticut, only about 1 in 5 adults consume fruits and vegetables five or more times a day. The prevalence of consuming five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day among Connecticut adults has remained constant. In 2011,the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) began using new weighting methodologies and including cell phone only respondents. Therefore, data from 2011 and later are not comparable to data from 2010 and earlier. 

Data for this indicator are available in odd-numbered years only from 2011 to 2019.  After this, the data will not be collected until 2023.  These data are current as of December 2022.  New data will be available in the Fall of 2024. 

The target was developed as part of Healthy Connecticut 2020 and Live Healthy Connecticut, A Coordinated Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Plan. 

Potential Partners:

Connecticut Department of Public Health; Connecticut Department of Social Services; Connecticut Department of
Agriculture; Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development; Connecticut Department of
Energy and Environmental Protection; State Department of Education; Connecticut Department of Transportation;
Connecticut Department of Children and Families; State Legislature; local public health agencies; health care
providers including nurses and primary care physicians; health professional associations; food industry; other
businesses and worksite wellness programs; educational providers; other organizations and coalitions focused on
nutrition, dietetics, and physical activity; community service providers; philanthropic and research organizations
that address obesity; schools of public health, allied health, and medicine; and others.

The CDC identifies improving nutrition and physical activity as "winnable battles" in public health.

The National Prevention Strategy recommends:
1. Increasing access to healthy and affordable foods in communities.
2. Implementing organizational and programmatic nutrition standards and policies.
3. Improve the nutritional quality of the food supply.
4. Help people recognize and make healthy food and beverage choices.
5. Support policies and programs that promote breastfeeding.
6. Enhance food safety.

Potential Strategy:

Partner with the Connecticut State Department of Education to work with schools and early childhood education centers to adopt and implement policies that create a healthy nutrition environment and promote daily physical activity

Work with communities and existing coalitions to advance local policies and systems changes that promote healthy eating and active living

Work with local public health partners and schools to establish school and community gardens

Work with local public health partners including local transportation authorities to promote bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly communities

For more information, refer to Live Healthy Connecticut, the Connecticut Coordinated Chronic Disease Plan.