Highlights

• Although a minimum of five daily servings of vegetables and fruit is recommended, seven out of 10 children aged 4 to 8 and half of adults do not meet this minimum.

• More than a third (37%) of children aged 4 to 9 do not have the recommended two daily servings of milk products. By age 30, more than two-thirds of Canadians do not attain the minimum daily levels.

• Over a quarter of Canadians aged 31 to 50 get more than 35% of their total calories from fat, the threshold beyond which health risks increase, according to the Institute of Medicine, an independent, non-governmental organization in the US, which provides science-based advice on health issues.

• Snacks, that is food and drink consumed between meals, account for more calories than breakfast, and about the same number of calories as lunch.

• Adults in low and lower-middle income households are less likely than those in the highest income households to get more than 35% of their daily calories from fat.

• Members of the highest income households are more likely than lower income groups to eat food prepared in a fast-food outlet.

• The food consumption patterns of children and adolescents are not as closely associated with household income as are those of adults.