Canadians aren’t eating enough of the four food groups

The Registered Dietitians from the Dairy Farmers of Canada and the Dietitians of Canada released the results of a national survey this month that found many Canadian adults are not consuming the recommended number of daily servings of any of the four food groups.

In fact, a significant number of respondents reported not consuming any of the foods in each food group on the day prior to the survey.

Alarming trend

Registered dietitians are warning this trend may have serious consequences on the nutritional health of Canadians, reports a release on the Dietitians of Canada website.

The data, which was collected by IPSOS Reid from more than 2,000 people across Canada in August 2009, was analyzed by Registered Dietitians to provide a snapshot of what Canadian adults are eating and drinking during a 24-hour period.

More findings

The findings include:

• Consumption of all four food groups is far below recommended levels;

• A significant number of Canadian adults had not consumed any milk and alternatives or any vegetables and fruit on the day prior to the survey;

• Many Canadian adults report they have barriers to healthy eating;

• A majority of Canadian adults are not aware of the many health benefits of milk and alternatives and vegetables and fruit including their role in reducing the risk of some cancers, hypertension and other chronic diseases; and

• When made aware of these important health benefits, Canadians report they are motivated to increase their intake of foods from these food groups.