Average vegetable intake among adults in Japan sinks to record low

Vegetable intake by Japanese adults has sunk to the lowest level on record, a government survey shows. | GETTY IMAGES

JIJI
November 26, 2024

The average daily vegetable intake of adults in Japan stood at 256 grams in 2023, hitting the lowest level among records kept since 2001, a health ministry survey has shown.

The government aims to raise the daily intake to 350 grams. Vegetable consumption, however, has been on a declining trend for both men and women.

"We'll boost support to achieve the target," a ministry official said Monday.

By age group, the average was lowest among respondents in their 20s. The older the respondents, the more vegetables they consumed.

The proportion of respondents who averaged 350 grams or more per day was below 30% for all age groups.

Of 6,014 households randomly selected for the November 2023 survey, 2,921 gave responses. The ministry has conducted such a survey annually except in 2020 and 2021 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the latest survey, the smoking rate rose to 15.7% from a record low of 14.8% in 2022.

The survey also found that 31.5% of male respondents had a body mass index, or BMI, of 25 or higher, which indicates obesity by Japanese standards, as did 21.1% of female respondents, both almost unchanged from 2022.