Trends in U.S. Fruit Consumption Relative to Recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans

The average U.S. resident is consuming less fruit over time. Per capita total fruit intake, which includes fresh, frozen, canned, dried, and 100 percent juice products, decreased almost 20 percent during the 2000s and 2010s when measured in cup equivalents. Using data collected between 2005 and 2020 through the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, this report compares total fruit intake by adults and children to recommendations stated in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Results show that a stable share of the population—about 23 percent of children and 15 percent of adults–has been consuming enough fruit to satisfy recommendations since at least the mid-2000s. However, a larger and growing share of people is consuming below a quarter of the recommendations. This group totaled almost 29 percent of children and 40 percent of adults at the beginning of the 2020s. Using data on adults, this report models the probability of a consumer falling into one of these two groups. Whether a consumer fully satisfies or satisfies below 25 percent of the recommendations is associated with some key behaviors indicative of one’s level of concern for health and nutrition knowledge. Fruit prices and household income have less influence.