Over half in Cyprus eat 1-4 portions of fruit and veg daily

Nearly one third of Cypriots, 32.6 per cent over the age of 15, did not consume a single portion of fruit or vegetables on a daily basis in 2014, according to Eurostat. According to the same survey however, 51.3 per cent ate 1-4 portions, and 16.1 per cent more than five.

Eurostat correlates education levels with fruit consumption, finding that “5-a-day” differs between highly educated and less educated people. In Cyprus 12.4 per cent of those who have a low educational level said they consumed at least five daily portions of fruit per day, 16.1 per cent of those with median education did, and 19.7 of the highly-educated.

In the European Union more than a third (34.4 per cent) aged 15 or over did not eat fruit and veg on a daily basis in 2014, while less than 15 per cent (14.1 per cent) consumed at least five portions each day as promoted under the ‘5-a-day’ campaign.

The World Health Organisation recommends that individuals consume “a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables per day (excluding potatoes and other starchy tubers)”.

Among EU member states, the lowest share of the population aged 15 or over not eating daily a fruit or a vegetable in 2014 was recorded in Belgium (16.1 per cent), ahead of Portugal (20.7 per cent), the United Kingdom (21.3 per cent), Italy (23.0 per cent), Spain (25.0 per cent), Slovenia (27.0 per cent), Croatia (27.5 per cent) and Greece (30.1 per cent).

More than half of the population did not eat fruit or vegetables on a daily basis in Romania (65.1 per cent) and Bulgaria (58.6 per cent). They were followed by Latvia (48.5 per cent), Slovakia (46.6 per cent), the Czech Republic (46.3 per cent), the Netherlands (45.9 per cent) and Germany (45.2 per cent).

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.