Even after eating a lot of fruits and veggies for 3 months, most people go back to eating only a little bit again a year later unless someone keeps giving them the food.

Scientific Claim

Twelve months after a 12-week intervention increasing fruit and vegetable intake to 8.4 portions per day, habitual intake in healthy adults aged 39–58 returns to near baseline levels (3.3 portions/day), demonstrating poor long-term sustainability without ongoing support.

Original Statement

“Post-washout, the intake of fruit, vegetables and juices in the intervention group returned to almost pre-intervention levels (3.33 portions) and was not significantly different from baseline intake (P > 0.05).”

From study:Effect of increasing fruit and vegetable intake by dietary intervention on nutritional biomarkers and attitudes to dietary change: a randomised trial

Evidence Quality Assessment

Claim Status

appropriately stated

Study Design Support

Design supports claim

Appropriate Language Strength

definitive

Can make definitive causal claims

Assessment Explanation

The RCT design with longitudinal follow-up allows causal inference about behavior regression. The authors accurately report the return to baseline without overgeneralizing.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Effect of increasing fruit and vegetable intake by dietary intervention on nutritional biomarkers and attitudes to dietary change: a randomised trial

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

After people ate more fruits and veggies for 12 weeks, they went back to eating about the same amount as before a year later — because it was too expensive, inconvenient, or hard to keep up.

Contradicting (0)

No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Effect of increasing fruit and vegetable intake by dietary intervention on nutritional biomarkers and attitudes to dietary change: a randomised trial

Score: 61

DOI: 10.1007/s00394-017-1469-0

Similar Assertions

When people who don’t eat much fruit or veggies are given them for free every week, they start eating almost 8 servings a day—proving that lack of access is a big reason they don’t eat enough.

84%

People stop eating lots of fruits and veggies not because they don’t know how to cook them, but because they’re too expensive, hard to buy often, and there’s just too much to eat every day.

80%

Eating more fruits and veggies for 3 months doesn’t lower blood pressure, cholesterol, or sugar levels—or make arteries less stiff—in healthy people who were already eating poorly.

71%

When people eat a lot more fruits and fruit juice for 3 months, their sugar intake goes up by 40%, which might be a hidden downside of trying to eat healthier.

71%