Study: UK Government’s Five-a-Day Message May Need to be Revised

1 Apr 2014 --- It might be time to revise the five-a-day message, according to the results of a study that showed people who consumed seven or more portions of fruit and veg a day had a lower risk of dying. The study, printed in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, also indicated that vegetables may be more protective than fruit, and that tinned and frozen fruit may not be helpful at all.

The study was carried out by experts at the University College London who analyzed lifestyle data for more than 65,000 randomly selected adults aged at least 35, derived from annual national health surveys for England between 2001and 2008. And they tracked recorded deaths from among the sample for an average of 7.5 years.
 
On average, the survey respondents said they had eaten just under four portions of fruit and vegetables the previous day. During the monitoring period 4399 people died (6.7% of the sample). 
The analysis revealed that eating fruit and vegetables was associated with a lower risk of death, overall, and deaths from heart disease/stroke and cancer. The higher the intake of fruit and vegetables, the greater the protective effects seemed to be.
 
Eating at least seven daily portions was linked to a 42% lower risk of death from all causes and from cancer and heart disease. Vegetables may be more protective, the figures suggest: 2-3 daily portions were linked to a 19% lower risk of death, compared with a 10% lower risk for the equivalent amount of fruit. And each portion of salad or vegetables seemed to confer a 12-15% lower risk of death.

An unexpected finding in the survey was that people who ate canned or frozen fruit actually had a higher risk of heart disease, stroke or cancer. The study showed a portion of frozen/tinned fruit seemed to increase risk of death by 17%, which public health doctors from the University of Liverpool describe in an accompanying editorial as “intriguing.” Might added sugars in ‘processed’ fruit products explain this finding, they wonder.

The authors, Dr Oyinlola Oyebode and colleagues from the department of epidemiology and public health at UCL, said they were unsure how to interpret the findings on canned or frozen fruit . It could be that people eating canned fruit may not live in areas where there is fresh fruit in the shops, which could indicate a poorer diet.

Those involved in the study concluded that current dietary guidance, which includes consumption of dried or tinned fruit, smoothies, and fruit juice as legitimate ways of reaching the ‘5-a-day’ goal, might need to be revised.

Australia already recommends seven portions a day, broken down into two portions of fruit and five of vegetables. In the US the advice is that about half of your plate should consist of fruit and vegetables.

By Sonya Hook