Andy Tullis / The BulletinA side order of fresh-cut fruit.

Oregon adults are better about eating the daily recommendation of fruits and vegetables than their peers in other states, according to a new Centers for Disease Control study.

That’s not saying much, however, because the herbivore-ish are such a small minority in every state. The CDC study is the first to provide a state-by-state look at fruit and vegetable intake. The numbers were extremely low in Southern states such as Mississippi, where just 5.5 percent of adults ate enough vegetables.

“It’s nice to be able to see the variation, but it’s disappointing how low it is across the United States,” said Latetia Moore, a CDC epidemiologist and study co-author. The study was published in the July 10 edition of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Eleven percent of Oregon adults ate the recommended 2 to 3 servings of vegetables per day, according to the federal study. That placed Oregon second, behind California.

On the fruit front, Oregon came in sixth, tied with Maine, at 14.5 percent of adults eating as much as the government recommends, which is 1½ to 2 servings.

Eating produce reduces the risk for heart disease, stroke and some cancers, and helps manage body weight, the authors noted. The findings demonstrate the need to spur demand through competitive pricing and better promotion. Improvement may come with future generations, since much of the emphasis so far has been on putting produce in front of kids.

Local nutritionist Lori Brizee is not surprised by the CDC’s findings.

Too many people think the path to better health is through fad diets like eating gluten-free, Brizee said. “Really, the No. 1 thing people need to be healthier is to eat more fruits and vegetables.”

It’s a straightforward but challenging task, Brizee said. Vegetables require preparation. People who are pressed for time can find pre-packaged salads and pre-washed vegetables, but those cost more.

“It is more expensive to eat a really healthy diet, especially if you’re going to have convenience things in there,” Brizee said.

Low-income people face hurdles in addition to cost and availability, Brizee said. She encouraged one client to eat frozen vegetables, but it turned out that the freezer in her apartment was too small to store much.

Food banks across the country are trying to put more produce into their clients’ baskets. The Oregon Food Bank, which supplies NeighborImpact in Redmond, wants to ramp up produce distribution 50 percent by 2019 to 15 million pounds a year, spokeswoman Myrna Jensen said.

The fact that most adults aren’t eating 5 servings of produce a day was already well-established through the National Cancer Institute’s annual survey of consumption, in which people are asked to recall, in detail, how much they ate over a 24-hour period. The CDC translated that data to the state level by applying a statistical model to the results of a different survey, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which asks people in each state how many times a day they eat fruits and vegetables.

Moore hopes the state-level information will catalyze local interest in nutrition policies and help states track their progress.

Government efforts to get kids eating more produce offers reason to be optimistic, Moore said. The National Cancer Institute survey showed a small but significant increase in fruit consumption among children last year, she said. Young children are already the best when it comes to eating fruit with 33 percent of 1- to 3-year-olds meeting the recommendation and more than 40 percent exceeding it.

Adults have a long way to go. Those who aren’t getting their five a day are 40 percent to 50 percent short of that goal, Moore said. “We’re not just a grape away from meeting the recommendation.”

Figuring out how much is enough takes practice. The guidelines say a serving of fruit is 1 cup (or 1⁄2 cup if dried). A serving of vegetables is 1 cup if raw, 1⁄2 cup if cooked.

But most people don’t tote around measuring cups. Moore said the easiest strategy is to try to eat more variety. If you eat an apple a day, she said, add a banana, and you’ve hit the mark for fruit. With vegetables, shoot for the colors of the rainbow — red, orange and dark green. “If you get more colors in your diet, you’ll probably get enough,” Moore said.

Legumes like black beans and lentils also count as vegetables, Brizee said. That’s good news for people trying to eat healthily on a budget.

— Reporter: 541-617-7860 kmclaughlin@bendbulletin.com