I read something ridiculous like 88% of people are not having their 5 a day. I’ve always had more by habit so I’m wondering how YOU would encourage people to start eating more vegetables?
I feel like a lot of people will say education, however the government / health organization messages don’t seem to be working. What about you change?
Convenience. Most people just grab something ready made for their next meal. Vegetables need to be right there alongside their normal food choices and they need to be costed, advertised, and presented in the same way.
If people aren’t in tune with their bodies they won’t realize how shitty they feel when they only eat processed food, meats, junk food, etc.
The best way, if you ask me, is to get people to realize the benefits of all around health. If people begin meditating, walking, and other forms of self care, they’ll realize that eating vegetables is awesome, and so worth it. Not only is it worth it, it’s really the best and only way to live and eat.
We have to be examples of health, and firmly and non critically push our beliefs. This is the way.
Very good and important question. Here in Canada we are having a huge healthcare crisis and yet nobody is suggesting that eating properly (fruits, veggies etc) could be a major solution. Instead the health care industry which is huge and powerful continues to advocate for more money, more nurses, more doctors, more money for drugs etc. Meanwhile obesity rates skyrocket and people with lifestyle diseases clog our hospitals. These same people are more susceptible to things like Covid, influenza etc.Our goal should not be the best healthcare, it should be the healthiest population. Eating vegetables, exercising and sleeping.I think if people understood how their diets of process food, high sugar content junk food etc is causing diabetes, hypertension,cancers and even depression they would eat more vegetables. Doctors who enable their patients by prescribing drugs instead of addressing the root of the problem (bad diet, sedentary lifestyle) should be defended by insurers or government medical payments.
Everything, and I mean everything comes down to convenience. I work 80+ hours a week. You really think I am gonna go home after work and wash, chop, steam/roast 16 different vegetables when I have to get up in less than 6 hours later? Hell no.
We know the health benefits of vegetables.
We know it’s better for your body.
But a lot of people (like me), don’t have the TIME.
I’d much rather just place an order for pickup at chipotle. It’d save me about an hour or two of being in the kitchen.
Teach them how to cook them. So many people think the only way to eat Brussel sprouts is to steam them. Make veggies appealing and delicious, and show them how to make them appealing and delicious. Telling people “you should eat 3-5 servings of vegetables every day” doesn’t do a whole lot. But teaching people to crave well cooked veggies will go very far.
Plus, a huge amount of people simply cannot afford to eat well, especially in America. We need better access to affordable healthy foods, food banks, and government assistance programs. The vast majority of people don’t eat well because they’re forced into the circumstance by means of poverty, joblessness, health issues (mental health disorders can make it impossible to cook for yourself some days), and so on. In order for society to be healthier we need to make society healthier.
i’d challenge them to roast their vegetables and try them, the key to having tasty vegetables is roasting them just right, almost any vegetable in the world tastes better roasted and i will take this to my GRAVE
Easier access. The reason fast food is so popular is simply convenience. I don’t even really like fast food, but I still find myself at a drive thru when I don’t have time to shop or cook or when I’m on the go. If they made healthy fast food restaurants I’d prefer to do that but they aren’t common and certainly never have drive thrus..
The gov needs to update that stupid food pyramid. Nutritional science is well beyond that old, questionable advice. The problem is, it is followed by schools and other gov-funded food programs so people think eating Hot Cheetos and Takis is nutritional.
I would talk about how cheap they are in comparison to meat and how much longer they’ll keep (raw and as leftovers) and that you can grow lots of them yourself for free. I think it will be driven by economics. People know vegetables are healthy, they know if cooked right they can be tasty. They clearly don’t care. I’d target their wallets.
I wish my work had vegetables. We don’t have a cafeteria, just a little shop with granola bars and ramen cups and candy/chips/sodas. On days I don’t bring my lunch, I actually feel ill and crave some green food but there’s literally none to be had. Not even fruit.
I wouldn’t. I’d just encourage them to eat whole foods and next to no processed foods.
That sorts the issue out without this “5 a day” nonsense.
The government recommendations and “guides” have worked as intended. They always promote stuff that doesn’t make em healthier overall or just enables the processed food industry.
I like to add vegetables people wouldn’t normally like in things. Make it an option in the table. I will talk it up a bit and tell them what’s in it. If they don’t like it… they don’t like it and we move on. You just keep trying until they try it. You can even tell them how this 5 a day has made you feel so great. You really can’t force it. No one wants to feel backed into a corner. Let people make the choice for themselves. Doesn’t mean you don’t keep trying.
Reduce the price. So long as a soda and chips is cheaper than a bag of broccoli, chips it is.
I eat my vegetables and I can tell you, they’re not cheap.
The price ain’t coming down so eating more vegetables won’t happen.
I changed my internal conversation from No! I can’t have that! To I can have that AND I need to have fruit, veggies, complex carbs, and water. So to me it seems like Yay! More food. Bonus was eating what I am supposed to left less room for chips and cookies etc. Plus, my portions are smaller, cuz adding more food is easy, eating it is now easier with smaller portions. Now I’m meal prepping to have cooked rice or boodles or pasta ready to go for a quick meal. All I have to fugure out is the veg and protein.
Something that really changed my perspective on eating is Dr. William Li’s Eat to Beat Disease book. It’s not about eliminating, but rather adding foods to your diet to reduce your chances of getting diseases. I started just adding easy salads (handful of spinach, bokchoy, tomatoes, lite cheese, cilantro) throughout the day. Also, instead of snacking on processed foods, I would eat raw broccoli or carrots. This really inspired me, because it was easy, filling, and I was eating more with less calories. And I FELT healthier, too. Then, I amped it up. Now, my diet is completely transformed, to the point where my life sum app has designated my diet as “perfect”. I think you have to smart small with the idea of adding things instead of eliminating, and then go from there.
People need monetary reasons to be encouraged to make the “healthier” choice. In my country, taxes on food are the same whether it’s a bag of carrots or a bag of potato chips. Maybe differentiate that?
It’s much cheaper to buy unhealthy highly processed food in grocery stores than “wholesome” foods including veggies etc.
For instance 1 liter of milk is is about a dollar more expensive than 1 liter of soda.
So it’s very difficult to blame low income households for not making the healthier choice. Especially in these days with a crazy surfing inflation.
High income households already make the healthier choice. It’s really all about money imo.
For me personally, it’s all about overall being less lazy and getting off the damn couch - whole healthy lifestyle mindset change. Prepare vegetables once or twice a week ready in containers in the fridge instead of watching Netflix, and often having a good dip to go with them (heluvagood, ranch, hummus). For weight loss purposes, I tried the no “bad” dip route (heluvagood, ranch) and that just made me not want them! Then veggies are also ready in the fridge to use in stir fries and stuff.
I personally, cannot stomach vegetables and fruit from stores or restaurants, however i can when it’s from farmer’s markets or my own garden. I also find that growing your own food, either from vegetables and fruit to harvesting your own meat, there’s definitely a sense of feeling proud. So definitely maybe encourage a garden or small greenhouse. I understand farmers do alot of this, but i prefer not to have the taste of pesticides every time i buy fruits or vegetables from the store.
I think a lot of it has to do with how television portrays vegetables — especially to little kid. I’m not sure about modern kid’s shows, but I remember back in the 90’s and 00’s everyone always complained about having to eat their vegetables, which made little kids not want to eat them because that’s what they see on TV.
I also don’t think people know how to prepare them properly; there are healthy ways to cook/prep veggies that add lots of flavor.
Tasking food scientists to work out how to make the most delicious baked goods with vegetables as a base. Just as boxed cake mix has been optimized.
Ex. I make a bastard creation of replacing at least half of my oatmeal bowl with riced cauliflower and “I’m lovin’ it”
As everyone else said, convenience. Vegetables are not as simple to acquire, prepare and eat on the go as a hamburger or fried chicken and fries. I eat a very healthy diet with lots of vegetables… until I’m traveling or slammed at work. Then convenience is king for me and when I cook for family. Short anecdote, we used to take a lot of road trips as a family to visit the grandparents (700 miles one way). I did all or most of the driving. We’d stop at a fast food restaurant because _time_ but I could NEVER order a salad because I can’t eat a salad while driving.
I had this idea once for a fast-food restaurant that was vegetable heavy and very convenient to order and eat. I’ll never do it, but I think it’d work. I have a name (Skewer) and recipes I’ve tried out with family and friends, but I will never do it because I don’ have the money or the time. It was just a dream. Anyone want to do it? lol
Anyway, vegetable need to be made convenient in this modern world.
Honestly?
Make cookery and dietetics a mandatory school subject.
body fat over 20-25%% =illegal
Sugary drinks and deep fried fast food = illegal
Base peoples food costs in fast food be based on their body fat %
Fine parent forms having fat kids
Harsh and unethical? Absolutely
Overnight improvement on global health? Also absolutely.
Dont @ me with nonsense about underweight people or people with thyroid or PSO issues, they’re statistically insignificant