Caribbean Fruits and Vegetables Infographics

by HCC

The Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) collaborated with the Loma Linda University School of Public Health to develop guidance on serving sizes for common Caribbean fruits and vegetables. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that you eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day1. Fresh fruit and vegetable intake is low in both Caribbean men and women, with less than 15% in most countries eating the recommended five or more portions a day2. For example, the St. Lucia 2012 STEPS Survey Fact Sheet reported that 88.3% of men and women in that island eat less than 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily3. HCC Childhood Obesity Fact Sheets, which also report data gathered from STEPS surveys and National surveys regarding fruit and vegetable intake, further highlight a concerning trend in low fruit and vegetable consumption in countries throughout the region4

Two infographics providing guidance on serving sizes for common Caribbean fruits and vegetables were created. These 2 guides are tools intended to:

  • Raise awareness around quantity of fruits and vegetables you need to eat each day to meet the WHO daily recommendation of 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
  • Educate the public about the size of a single serving of common Caribbean fruits and vegetables.
  • Provide examples of how to calculate the servings of Caribbean fruits and vegetables you have consumed for the day.

It is worth noting that starchy ground provisions, including potato, sweet potato and cassava – which are widely consumed throughout the region – do not count towards the WHO daily fruit and vegetable intake recommendation1.

Multi-paged printable versions can now also be downloaded:

Caribbean Fruits
Caribbean Vegetables

Click/tap on the images below to see/download the full size pdf version.

Caribbean fruits and vegetables
Caribbean fruits and vegetables
References:
1. WHO. Healthy Diet. 2015 [Available from: http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet]
2. HCC. NCDs in the Caribbean .2017 [Available from: https://www.healthycaribbean.org/ncds-in-the-caribbean/]
3. PAHO. SAINT LUCIA STEPS Survey 2012 Fact Sheet. 2012 [Available from:http://www.who.int/ncds/surveillance/steps/SaintLucia_2012_STEPS_FactSheet.pdf]
4. HCC. Childhood Obesity Fact Sheets. 2018 [Available from: https://www.healthycaribbean.org/obesity-fact-sheets/]

Other HCC Publications

Childhood Obesity Fact Sheets. These childhood obesity prevention fact sheets are intended to serve as tools to support civil society advocacy. The fact sheets contain individual country information about childhood obesity and overweight, adult overweight and local policy environments, including snapshots of the Childhood Obesity Prevention Scorecard (COPS). Read more

Alcohol and Cancer in the Caribbean a series of eleven Infographic Panels. Read more