Trends in fruit and vegetables consumption among Malaysian adults, 2006-2019

Abstract

Background Inadequate fruit and vegetables consumption is linked to cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancers, obesity and all-cause mortality. Although the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines 2020 recommended the consumption of at least two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables daily in the adults, data from several National Health & Morbidity Survey among the Malaysian adults showed remarkedly low prevalence of adequate fruit and vegetables consumption. We aimed to determine the trend in fruit and vegetables consumption among the Malaysian adults between 2006 and 2019. Methods We analysed data from five nationally representative, cross-sectional national surveys, namely the Malaysian Non-Communicable Disease Surveillance 2006 (MyNCDS-1), the National Health & Morbidity Survey [NHMS] 2011, the NHMS 2014, NHMS 2015 and NHMS 2019 in this study. We assessed time and sociodemographic (age, sex, ethnicity and household income) trends in prevalence of adequate fruit and vegetables consumption between 2006 and 2019 among Malaysian adults. Results We observed a significant downward trend in the prevalence of adequate fruit and vegetables consumption among the Malaysian adults between 2006 and 2019 with each successive survey (3.9%, 4.1%, 1.1%, 2.9% and 2.3%, respectively) (Ptrend<0.001). The prevalence of adequate fruit and vegetables consumption increased significantly with household income and age. Conclusion Our data showed a declining trend in fruit and vegetables consumption among Malaysian adults over the 13-year period, suggesting a need for a continuous effort to strengthen the existing healthy eating campaigns. This will not only increase the public awareness about the importance of adequate fruit and vegetables consumption to maintain an optimal health, but also aid in the effort to reverse the declining trend.