America’s top fruit-phobic states have been revealed in an interactive map from DailyMail.com.
Based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the map shows how nearly half of adults in eight states don’t consume a single piece of fruit per day.
The states are concentrated in the South, which traditionally scores poorly on fast food consumption, obesity and other dietary metrics.
Overall, three in five Americans nationwide consume more than one piece of fruit per day. The CDC says every adult should consume 1.5 to two cups of fruit and two to three cups of vegetables per day to get enough nutrients and avoid any deficiencies, or five per day.
The data comes from the 2021 CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which surveyed 440,000 Americans in the US.
For the survey, participants were asked: ‘Now think about the food you have eaten or drunk in the last month, ie the last 30 days, including meals and snacks.
“Excluding juices, how many times have you eaten fruit?”
For vegetables, the question was: ‘How often have you eaten a leafy vegetable or lettuce salad, with or without other vegetables?’
Oklahoma had the highest percentage of people who did not eat at least one piece of fruit per day with 48.7 percent of respondents.
Rounding out the top five were Louisiana (48.6 percent), followed by Mississippi (46.8 percent), Tennessee (46.1), and West Virginia (46).
These states were also among the most impoverished in the country, all in the top ten of those with the highest poverty rates according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
Low-income families are more likely to buy ultra-processed foods and less likely to buy fruits and vegetables than families from wealthier households.
According to a 2018 study by Johns Hopkins University.
In Oklahoma, about one in six people are food insecure — unable to get enough food to meet their needs — according to the Oklahoma Policy Institute.
One in four workers in the state also earns less than the national poverty line – less than $13,590 per year for individuals.
The chart above shows the fruit consumed per capita in the US. It shows a gradual decline in the proportion consumed that is processed, while the amount consumed fresh ticks up
The situation is no better in Louisiana, where nearly a fifth of children live in homes that are food insecure, data from 2019 to 2021 collected by the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows.
About 19 percent of households in the state also live below the national poverty line, while the proportion in deep poverty — earning less than half of the $27,750 needed for a family of four — was 8.7 percent.
In terms of vegetable consumption, Louisiana had the most people who ate too few vegetables, with 25.6 percent eating less than one per day.
It was followed by Texas (24.1 percent), Nevada (24), Mississippi (23.2), and Iowa (23).
Due to the lack of consumption of adequate fruits and vegetables, people in these states are at greater risk of obesity because they eat more processed foods.
Of the top ten states for most people avoiding fruit, seven of them — Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, West Virginia, Arkansas, and Kentucky — also ranked in the top ten for obesity rates in the US.
Oklahoma also had the highest death rate from heart disease in the US — at 264.2 fatalities per 100,000 people — while Louisiana — at 235.5 per 100,000 — has the fourth highest.
Health officials say it’s essential to get the “full rainbow” of fruits and vegetables each day to ensure they get all the nutrients their bodies need.
Previous research has shown how adequate consumption is linked to a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and obesity.