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Collected Item: “Need another reason to boost fruit, veggie intake? Try COVID-19”

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Need another reason to boost fruit, veggie intake? Try COVID-19

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Text story

Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.

This is a news story from the American Medical Association by Timothy M. Smith. Doctors mentioned in this article bring up the importance of diet and how it relates to fighting off COVID-19. According to a 2019 survey, researchers found only 1 in 10 adults meet the daily recommended intake of fruit and vegetables.

There is a racial disparity as well. The researchers also noted that meeting vegetable intake recommendations was highest among those 51 or older. There were also differences in vegetable intake between groups defined by income level and race. While 12.2% of adults in the highest-income households got enough veggies, only 7.7% of those living in middle-income households did. Meanwhile, 6.9% of Black adults met vegetable intake recommendations, compared with 10.1% of white adults.

Other barriers in getting the daily recommended intake have class issues, where some groups are more likely to have access to fresh food than other groups. “Perceived barriers to fruit and vegetable consumption include cost, as well as limited availability and access,” the report notes, adding that “for some persons, such barriers might have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic related to economic and supply chain disruptions that could further limit ability to access healthier foods.”

Dr. Kirley said she hopes the pandemic “will draw attention to this longstanding problem and that we’ll start to see more investment in innovative solutions to promote health through better nutrition.”

With these things in mind, it demonstrates the barriers some people might have in fighting off COVID.

Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?

nutrition, health, science, Black, White, race, class, poverty, accessibility, HST580, ASU

Enter a URL associated with this object, if relevant.

https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/need-another-reason-boost-fruit-veggie-intake-try-covid-19

Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)

Timothy M. Smith

Give this story a date.

2022-04-29
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