We know what we should eat, but do we really put it into practice?

The study “Attitudes and Perceptions Related to Healthy Eating” carried out by EXACT Research and Consulting Institute shows that, at the declarative level, 66% of persons located in the urban environment, aged between 15 and 60 consume fresh fruit on a daily basis, 21% 3-5 times a week.

If we rank the first 3 fruit consumed by Romanian, the first places shall be occupied by: apples (more than 88% mentioned these fruit), followed by oranges – 68% and bananas - 56%. Young people (15-29 years old) ate less fruit: only 3-5 times a week compared with persons aged between 45 and 60 who usually consume fruit 6-7 times a week.

There are differences regarding the membership to gender: men consume more than women: bananas, peers, oranges, lemons and women eat more of the following fruit: apples, grapefruit, mandarins/clementines, grapes as compared to men.

As regards the diversity of fruit to be consumed, , 36% of the respondents have consumed one or two different fruit for the last week, 50% have consumed 3 or 4 different fruit, while a greater variety concerning fruit eaten is characteristic only for 14% of the respondents. Of course, we have to take into account the seasons, this period being characterized by a reduced variety and diversity of fruit.
Only 20% of the respondents use to consume meals entirely prepared of vegetables, on a daily basis, the greatest percentage of 41% of the respondents used to eat these kinds of meals only 1-2 times a week. Women consume more often than men meals entirely prepared of vegetables (6-7 times a week ranked on the first place), while men usually eat such meals 1-2 times a week. Persons aged between 46 and 60 consumes 3-5 times a week meals predominantly composed of vegetables while young people aged between 15 and 29 eat vegetables 1-2 times a week.

At the question ‘What vegetables and greenery have you personally eaten especially for the last week?, the first places were taken by tomatoes– 43%, carrots – 42%, green salad– 38%, cucumbers – 33%, green onion – 27%. Green vegetables are largely consumed by women in comparison with men: onion and green beans, green salad, peas, spinach, nettles, cabbage, but also carrots and radish. The number of men exceeds the number of women at the consumption of tomatoes, onion and garlic (dried).
The potato has been mentioned only by 19% of the respondents answering the question related to vegetables consumed during the last week; nevertheless the study does not contradict the hypothesis tested on many previous studies: namely the fact that this foodstuff represents the basic food in Romania. 94% of Romanians answered positively at the question: Have you eaten potatoes in the last week? The conclusion is automatically drawn: the potato is not perceived as a vegetable but as a main meal present on our table.

The study “Attitudes and Perceptions Related to Healthy Eating” has been elaborated by EXACT Research and Consulting on a sample of 553 persons aged between 15 and 60 located in the urban environment, displaying a maximum error of +/- 4.2%. The standardized questionnaires have been applied via the telephone during the period 24th of March – 1st of April.