First lady Michelle Obama should consider expanding her kiddy-focused "Let's Move!" initiative to adults because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that their parents, uncles and aunts don't eat enough fruits and vegetables either.
The numbers just released Thursday are horrible for adults who engage in 30 minutes of moderate physical activity daily.
• Overall, just 13.1 percent met "fruit intake recommendations."
• Only 8.9 percent "met vegetable recommendations."
In fact, by comparison, kids aren't doing bad. Their numbers:
• 60 percent of children "consumed fewer cup equivalents of fruit than recommended." It was 76 percent for adults.
• 93 percent consumed "fewer vegetables than recommended." That was 87 percent for adults, based on newly analyzed 2013 data.
First lady Michelle Obama's focus for her "Let's Move!" initiative has been children. AP Photo
The CDC sees a pattern. Get more kids to eat more fruits and veggies, and they will grow into adults with better eating habits.
"Because fruit and vegetable consumption affects multiple health outcomes and is currently low across all states, continued efforts are needed to increase demand and consumption. Improving fruit and vegetable consumption for adults might start with improving intake during childhood," said CDC.
The solution, added CDC, might be as simple as putting more fruit and vegetables in front of adults and making it look attractive.
"Improving fruit and vegetable accessibility, placement, and promotion in grocery stores, restaurants, worksites, and other community settings might improve intake in adults. For example, work sites can make it easier for employees to make healthy food choices and create social norms that support healthy eating by creating policies to ensure that fruits and vegetables are provided at work-site gatherings, including meetings, conferences, and other events," said the agency.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com.