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Burden of Chronic Disease

• By Disease and Risk Factor
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The Burden of Chronic Diseases and Their Risk Factors: National and State Perspectives 2002

Section III
Risk Factors and Use of Preventive Services, United States

  




Poor Nutrition Among Adults

Good nutrition, including a diet that is low in saturated fats and contains five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day, plays a key role in maintaining good health. Improving the American diet could extend the productive life span of Americans and reduce the occurrence of chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, some types of cancers, diabetes, and osteoporosis.

  • According to the American Cancer Society, about one-third of all cancer deaths in the United States are attributable to dietary risk factors. 
  • Poor nutrition and lack of physical exercise are associated with 300,000 deaths each year in the United States.
  • In 2000, less than one-fourth of U.S. adults reported eating recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables daily. 
  • In 2000, the percentage of adults who reported not eating recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables ranged from 63% in Arizona to 84% in Louisiana.

Percentage of Adults Who Reported Eating Fewer Than Five Servings of Fruits and Vegetables per Day, 2000

Percentage of Adults Who Reported Eating Fewer Than Five Servings of Fruits and Vegetables per Day, 2000. Data in tabular format follows.

Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

  



 

Percentage of Adults Who Reported Eating Fewer Than Five Servings of Fruits and Vegetables per Day, by State Rank, 2000

Rank State Percent
1 Louisiana 84.2
2 Iowa 81.9
3 Oklahoma 81.8
4 Mississippi 81.4
5 South Dakota 80.1
6 Indiana 80.0
7 Wyoming 79.6
8 New Mexico 79.5
9 Utah 79.4
10 Nebraska 79.4
11 Missouri 79.3
12 Idaho 78.9
13 Nevada 78.7
14 Ohio 78.6
15 West Virginia 78.6
16 Wisconsin 78.3
17 North Carolina 77.9
18 Georgia 77.7
19 Hawaii 77.6
20 Delaware 77.5
21 Arkansas 77.5
22 Kentucky 77.3
23 Alabama 77.3
24 Montana 77.2
25 Michigan 76.9
26 North Dakota 76.8
27 Florida 76.8
28 Pennsylvania 76.7
29 Illinois 76.7
30 Colorado 76.6
31 Texas 76.6
32 Kansas 76.6
33 Alaska 76.3
34 Minnesota 75.7
35 Maine 75.5
36 South Carolina 75.4
37 Washington 75.3
38 Virginia 74.4
39 New Hampshire 73.8
40 California 73.3
41 Oregon 73.2
42 New Jersey 72.6
43 Maryland 72.6
44 New York 72.5
45 Vermont 71.3
46 Rhode Island 70.8
47 Connecticut 70.7
48 Massachusetts 70.0
49 District of Columbia 68.1
50 Tennessee 65.9
51 Arizona 63.1
  Median 76.8

Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

  


 

Percentage of Adults Who Reported Eating Fewer Than Five Servings of Fruits and Vegetables per Day, by Sex, Race, and Ethnicity, 2000

State Total Male Female White Black† Asian/Pacific Islander† American Indian/ Alaska Native† Hispanic†
Alabama 77.3 77.4 77.2 77.8 78.7 - - -
Alaska 76.3 78.1 74.3 76.6 - - 76.1 73.2
Arizona 63.1 65.2 61.1 66.2 - - 70.9 50.5
Arkansas 77.5 79.7 75.5 77.7 78.0 - - 75.5
California 73.3 80.1 66.7 74.1 72.6 64.8 - 74.0
Colorado 76.6 80.3 73.1 77.0 79.3 - - 76.5
Connecticut 70.7 74.1 67.5 70.0 74.0 61.8 - 75.7
Delaware 77.5 81.4 74.0 76.5 84.7 - - 81.6
District of Columbia 68.1 71.6 65.1 67.8 68.9 - - 70.5
Florida 76.8 80.9 73.0 74.9 81.6 73.9 - 81.5
Georgia 77.7 80.3 75.3 76.5 81.1 - - 80.9
Hawaii 77.6 81.1 74.0 72.3 78.7 80.1 80.9 77.1
Idaho 78.9 84.0 73.9 78.6 - - 78.0 82.3
Illinois 76.7 79.5 74.0 75.7 81.3 - - 75.1
Indiana 80.0 83.6 76.6 80.1 78.8 - - 85.8
Iowa 81.9 86.8 77.4 81.9 - - - 85.7
Kansas 76.6 82.3 71.2 76.2 80.6 - - 80.8
Kentucky 77.3 80.9 74.1 77.1 83.1 - - -
Louisiana 84.2 85.8 82.7 84.2 84.5 - - 83.7
Maine 75.5 82.7 68.8 75.2 - - - 77.6
Maryland 72.6 78.1 67.5 71.3 76.4 82.4 - 64.3
Massachusetts 70.0 76.1 64.5 69.5 72.1 72.6 - 73.5
Michigan 76.9 82.4 72.0 77.6 77.6 - - 74.4
Minnesota 75.7 80.6 71.0 75.7 75.3 - - 70.1
Mississippi 81.4 83.2 79.9 81.6 83.0 - - 78.8
Missouri 79.3 83.2 75.8 78.6 85.1 - - 77.7
Montana 77.2 82.1 72.6 76.9 - - 85.9 72.8
Nebraska 79.4 83.8 75.3 79.4 73.3 - - 80.0
Nevada 78.7 81.7 75.7 78.8 74.6 86.6 - 79.1
New Hampshire 73.8 79.1 68.9 74.0 - - - -
New Jersey 72.6 76.0 69.4 72.6 72.1 66.8 - 75.4
New Mexico 79.5 83.8 75.5 76.4 - - 81.4 83.5
New York 72.5 78.3 67.3 73.0 74.6 67.3 - 71.3
North Carolina 77.9 81.1 74.9 76.8 81.8 - - 74.7
North Dakota 76.8 82.3 71.5 76.6 - - 80.4 -
Ohio 78.6 82.3 75.3 78.5 80.5 - - 80.2
Oklahoma 81.8 85.3 78.7 81.3 85.3 - 82.5 86.5
Oregon 73.2 78.0 68.6 73.5 - 77.1 65.9 71.2
Pennsylvania 76.7 82.5 71.5 76.8 76.5 - - 73.6
Rhode Island 70.8 77.2 65.1 69.5 82.5 - - 77.5
South Carolina 75.4 78.0 73.0 75.6 75.8 - - 77.0
South Dakota 80.1 84.5 76.0 80.1 - - 80.0 77.5
Tennessee 65.9 68.5 63.5 65.0 72.6 - - 63.1
Texas 76.6 81.4 72.1 76.3 75.1 76.0 - 77.8
Utah 79.4 84.0 75.0 79.0 - - - 86.4
Vermont 71.3 78.1 64.9 71.3 - - - 72.0
Virginia 74.4 79.5 69.7 73.9 77.7 72.9 - 77.9
Washington 75.3 80.4 70.4 74.7 76.4 75.9 82.1 82.0
West Virginia 78.6 83.4 74.2 78.7 70.0 - - -
Wisconsin 78.3 84.4 72.6 78.1 84.0 - - 83.0
Wyoming 79.6 84.2 75.2 79.8 - - - 75.8
United States 75.6 80.1 71.3 75.6 78.0 70.3 77.2 75.2

*A dash indicates that the state sample had too few respondents (fewer than 50) in this category to calculate a stable estimate. 
Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

 

  



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This page last reviewed August 10, 2004

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