Health Fact Sheets
Fruit and vegetable consumption, 2015 Health Fact Sheets
Fruit and vegetable consumption, 2015

In 2015, 31.5% of Canadians aged 12 and older, roughly 9 million people, reported that they had consumed fruits and vegetables five or more times per day.^{Note 1Note 2} Females were more likely than males to report consuming fruits and vegetables five or more times per day. In 2015, 38.0% of females and 24.8% of males reported such consumption^{Note 3}.

Fruit and vegetable consumption provides an important source of vitamins, minerals and fiber, which may reduce the risk of heart disease and some types of cancer^{Note 4}.

In 2015, fruit and vegetable consumption was higher among males aged 12 to 17 (30.3%) compared to older males (around 24% for all other age groups), while females aged 12 to 17 (32.3%) reported a lower consumption of fruits and vegetables than older females (around 38% in the other age groups).

Data table for Chart 1

Data table for Chart 1
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 1. The information is grouped by Age group (years) (appearing as row headers), Percent and Confidence Interval, calculated using Lower 95% and Upper 95% units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Age group (years)	Percent	Confidence Interval
		Lower 95%	Upper 95%
Males
Total (12 or older)	24.8	23.8	25.7
12 to 17	30.3	27.5	33.1
18 to 34	25.8	23.9	27.7
35 to 49	25.2	23.1	27.3
50 to 64	21.7	19.9	23.4
65 or older	24.9	23.1	26.7
Females
Total (12 or older)	38.0	37.0	39.0
12 to 17	32.3	29.3	35.3
18 to 34	36.8	34.8	38.9
35 to 49	40.3	38.1	42.5
50 to 64	39.4	37.5	41.3
65 or older	36.9	35.0	38.8
Note: Indicates the usual number of times (frequency) per day a person reported eating fruits and vegetables. Measure does not take into account the amount consumed. Source: Canadian Community Health Survey, 2015.

The proportion of residents who reported eating fruits and vegetables at least five times daily was lower than the national average (31.5%) in:

• Newfoundland and Labrador (22.5%)
• Prince Edward Island (27.2%)
• Nova Scotia (25.3%)
• Ontario (28.7%)
• British Columbia (29.9%)

The proportion of residents who reported eating fruits and vegetables at least five times daily was higher than the national average in Quebec (38.8%).

The proportion of residents who reported eating fruits and vegetables at least five times daily was about the same as the national average in the other provinces.

In 2015, fruit and vegetable consumption habits differed by the highest level of education^{Note 5} attained by members of the household. When the highest level of education was below post-secondary, 24.3% of Canadians aged 12 and older ate fruits and vegetables five or more times per day. The proportion of people who consumed five or more fruits and vegetables per day was highest where post-secondary graduation was attained by a member of the household (33.4%). Fruit and vegetable consumption was also impacted by household income.^{Note 6} The percentage of Canadians aged 12 or older who consumed fruits and vegetables at least five times daily was lowest in households that fell within the lowest income quintile (27.4%). Consumption of fruits and vegetables among the other income quintiles did not differ from one another.

References

Garriguet, D. 2007. “Canadians’ eating habits.” Health Reports. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 82-003. Vol. 18, no. 2. (Accessed January 11th, 2017)

Pérez, C.E. 2002. “Fruit and vegetable consumption.” Health Reports. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 82-003. Vol. 13, no. 3. (Accessed January 11th, 2017)

Data

Additional data from the Canadian Community Health Survey are available from CANSIM table 105–0508.