Factors Associated With Inadequate Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Adults in Bangladesh: Evidence From a Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Survey

Background

Understanding the variables that contribute to low fruit and vegetable (FAV) intake is necessary to create effective strategies to enhance FAV consumption. However, there is a paucity of literature on this issue in Bangladesh. Therefore, we aimed to determine the factors associated with low FAV intake among adults in Bangladesh.

Methods

The World Health Organization's (WHO) 2018 STEPwise approach to surveillance (STEPS) survey dataset was used that covered participants aged 18–69 years. The low FAV intake was the outcome of interest and a daily average consumption of <5 servings of FAVs (nearly 400 grams) was regarded as low FAV intake. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was employed to determine the factors associated with low FAV consumption among Bangladeshi adults.

Results

The prevalence of low FAV intake among Bangladeshi adults was 67.75%. In the regression analysis, factors that were found to be associated with higher odds of having low FAV were as follows: having no knowledge of recommended FAV servings (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 6.81, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.54–8.38), no intake of daily snacks (AOR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.19–1.85) or only once a day (AOR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.18–1.81), absence of abdominal obesity (AOR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.09–1.70), being from urban areas (AOR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.07–1.69), and Chittagong and Rangpur division. Conversely, younger individuals showed lower odds of low FAV intake than those aged 60–69.

Conclusion

The findings of this study highlight the importance of increasing knowledge and awareness to have daily recommended servings to promote overall FAV intake.