EXPERTS, in a new report, said about two of every five Africans consume less than seven portions of vegetables and fruits every week, although fruits and vegetables are protective of health, including cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) like stroke, heart disease, hypertension and heart failure, as well as deaths.
In a study by Okekunle and others, which was recently published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, individuals exposed to harmful lifestyle factors for cardiovascular diseases (including smoking, alcohol consumption and physical inactivity) are less likely to consume fruits and vegetables frequently.
The researcher harmonized large datasets from the Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network (SIREN) and Africa Wits-INDEPTH Partnership for Genomic Research (AWI-Gen) studies within the H3 Africa Consortium and assessed factors associated with the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption among 20,443 participants across five African countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria).
The total frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption (in portions per week) was classified as ‘low’, ‘moderate’ and ‘high’, and factors associated with the total frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption (using ‘low’ consumption as reference) were also estimated.
The average frequency of total fruit and vegetable consumption among Africans was 10 portions per week.
Also, the fruit and vegetable consumption were invariably the same across sex and age differentials, but country-wise, the number of participants with a high total frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption was 2,404 (34.5 percent) in Nigeria; 1,706 (24.5 percent) in South Africa; 1,458 (21.0 percent) in Ghana; 764 (11.0 percent) in Burkina Faso and 625 (9.0 percent) in Kenya.
According to the study, those with a family history of cardiovascular disease [moderate and high], current smokers, current alcohol users and physically inactive participants were less likely to consume fruits and vegetables frequently.
Male participants were more likely than female participants to consume fruit and vegetables frequently, but those with a family history of CVD were less likely to consume fruit and vegetables frequently.
Participants in the study residing in urban areas were more likely than their rural counterparts to consume fruit and vegetables frequently. In contrast, those with a higher level of education, not less than secondary school education, were less likely to consume fruit and vegetables frequently compared with those with lower forms of formal education.
The World Health Organisation recommends an average of 400g/day (five portions per day) consumption of fruits and vegetables to mitigate the risk of diet-related chronic disease.
In keeping with this recommendation, the researchers therefore, called for culturally suitable interventions targeted at immediate and remote factors associated with fruit and vegetable consumption that might help prevent or delay the onset of diet-related cardiovascular disease.