Frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption and blood antioxidants in theCaerphilly cohort of older men

Objective: To assess the number of portions of fruit and vegetables consume d daily by a large representative sample of older men, and to determine how blood antioxidant (vitamins E, A and carotenoids) concentrations vary with fruit and vegetable consumption. Design: Cross-sectional study of free-living men. Subjects: Men aged 55-69 y (dietary data, n = 1957; blood data, n = 1874) p articipating in Phase III (1989-1993) of the Caerphilly and Speedwell Colla borative Heart Disease Studies. Methods: Dietary data were obtained by semi-quantitative food-frequency que stionnaire and blood samples were analysed for antioxidant vitamins. Men we re subdivided into groups on the basis of portions per day of fruit and veg etables. Within these sub-groups, mean and 95% ranges of intakes and of blo od antioxidant levels were obtained. Log transformations were performed whe re appropriate. Results: Only 4.3% of the men met the recommended target of five portions, while 33.3% of the men consumed one or fewer portions of fruit and vegetabl es per day. Those men who consumed the poorest diets with respect to fruit and vegetable intakes were more likely to be from lower socio-economic clas ses, drink more alcohol and be current smokers. Fruit and vegetable intake reflected plasma concentrations of antioxidants, which showed a dose-respon se relationship to frequency of consumption. Conclusions: Older men in the UK consume much less fruit and vegetables tha n current recommendations. Major difficulties are likely to be encountered in trying to meet a dietary target that is clearly much higher than the fru it and vegetable consumption of large sections of the older population in t he UK.