The U.S. Department of Agriculture 1994-1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals was used to estimate the intake of naturally occurring inulin and oligofructose by the U.S. population. Two nonconsecutive 24-h dietary recalls from >15,000 Americans of all ages were conducted, and a special database of inulin and oligofructose was developed specifically for the analyses. American diets provided on average 2.6 g of inulin and 2.5 g of oligofructose. Intakes varied by gender and age, ranging from 1.3 g for young children to 3.5 g for teenage boys and adult males. When standardized for amount of food consumed, the intakes showed little difference across gender and age. Significant differences in intake of these components were seen between categories within region of the country, season, income, and race and origin; however, the actual differences were relatively small. Major food sources of naturally occurring inulin and oligofructose in American diets were wheat, which provided about 70% of these components, and onions, which provided about 25% of these components. The estimation of the presence of inulin and oligofructose in the diets of Americans has not been published to date.

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OBJECTIVES. This study provides revised baseline data for the Healthy People 2000 objective related to fruit and vegetable intakes, accounting for fruits and vegetable intakes, accounting for fruits and vegetables from all sources and measuring servings in a manner consistent with current dietary guidance. METHODS. Dietary data from 8181 adults in the US Department of Agriculture's 1989-1991 Continuing Surveys of Food Intakes by Individuals were examined. All foods were disaggregated into their component ingredients; all fruit and vegetable ingredients were assigned specific weights to correspond to a serving as defined by current dietary guidance materials; and the number of servings was tallied. RESULTS. While mean intakes of fruits and vegetables--4.3 servings per day--were not far from the Year 2000 objective, only 32% of American adults' intakes met the objective. When more stringent standards were set either to compensate for higher calorie levels or to achieve the balance between fruits and vegetables suggested in current guidance, only 24% and 12%, respectively, met the recommendations. CONCLUSIONS. These results suggest a need to develop strategies for overcoming barriers to eating fruits and vegetables.