Horticultural body AUSVEG is adding its voice to the ‘Try for 5’ public health campaign which encourages consumers to eat five serves of vegetables each day.
AUSVEG is asking the Australian vegetable industry and consumers to find creative ways to incorporate five serves of veggies or more into their daily meals, and to share their stories and photos with the organisation.
The call comes ahead of National Nutrition Week which runs from 15-21 October 2017, which is an initiative of Nutrition Australia.
Try for 5, the theme of National Nutrition Week, will encourage consumers to boost their health by increasing their vegetable consumption to the recommended five serves per day.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, less than four per cent of Australians consume the recommended number of vegetable serves per day, and it is estimated that less than one per cent of children meet the recommended quota.
Childhood obesity is also soaring across the world, according to a new study by Imperial College London, which has revealed that childhood obesity has increased more than tenfold over the past four decades.
“Most Australians fall alarmingly short of eating five or more serves of veggies each day and this has a severe impact on our health as well as the sustainability of the vegetable industry,” AUSVEG CEO James Whiteside said.
“With National Nutrition Week just around the corner, AUSVEG is calling on the Australian vegetable industry and consumers to find creative ways to incorporate five serves of veggies or more into their daily meals, and to share their stories and photos with us.”
