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Low fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption is associated with cardiovascular disease and some cancers. The UK recommendation is that adults should consume at least 400 g (5 × 80 g portions) of FV per day. However, the most recent available data indicate that over 80% of UK adults do not adhere to the ‘5-a-day’ recommendation. This study investigates whether the level of adherence has changed over time. Further, we look at number of FV portions consumed by age, sex and socioeconomic position across the three time points between 1986 and 2012.

We used three surveys for this repeated cross-sectional analysis: the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2000/01 and 2008/12) and a similar survey from 1986/87, the Dietary and Nutritional Survey for British Adults. These surveys employ multistage random sampling. FV intake was assessed using food diaries and demographic …