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Study says Rural Residents Eat Fewer Veggies than City Dwellers

04/27/2013

A study finds rural residents don't eat as much produce as city folks, even though rural people live closer to where the fruits and vegetables are grown. Dr. Nawal Lutfiyya, a research scientist and epidemiologist at the Essentia Institute of Rural Health, says the findings were unexpected. (play audio :18)
Dr. Lutfiyya says you could live in a rural area, next to a huge farm and not have the means to buy the produce, so people in the city who are farther removed from the source tend to be the more likely consumers. (play audio :16)
The study found a difference between the sexes. Dr. Lutfiyya says women are more likely to eat the recommended daily amount of produce than men, while married folks consume more than singles. (play audio :20)
Dr. Lutfiyya says Nebraska bucks the trend, as the study found about 21-percent of rural Nebraskans eat the recommended allowances of fruits and vegetables, compared to 19-percent of city dwellers. Usually, she says, it's the reverse.
The study also found that fruit and veggie eaters are generally better educated and more economically stable than those who skip the produce aisle. Adequate fruit and vegetable consumption reduces the risk for a number of diseases and early death, she says. The study aims to identify groups that are at risk.
The Duluth, Minnesota-based Institute is part of Essentia Health, a non-profit health system serving primarily rural residents in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Idaho.

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