A third of EU residents don’t eat fruit or veg daily

More than a third of the European Union population aged 15 or over did not eat fruit and vegetables on a daily basis in 2014.

And less than 15% consumed at least the recommended 5 portions a day, according to a Eurostat press release.

The European Union’s statistical office also said the daily consumption of fruit and vegetables differs widely between EU member states.

In Romania, for instance, almost two-thirds (65.1%) of the population aged 15 and over does not eat fruit and vegetables on a daily basis, while in Belgium, at the other end of the scale, it’s 16.5%.

Similarly, a third of those in the UK eat at least 5 portions of fruit or veg daily, compared to 3.5% in Romania and 4.4% in Bulgaria.

And when it comes to differences between men and for women, Eurostat said the daily consumption of fruit and vegetables seems to also be influenced by the level of education – the higher the education level, the higher the share of the “5-a-day” population.

The widest gap between low and high educated persons for “5-a-day” consumption was in the UK, where 40.5% of those with a high education consumed at least five fruit or vegetables each day compared to 25% for those with a low education level.