GETTING STARTED, pp. 3–6

Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2004.

72% of women report eating less than five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

Decorative Image: Image of a page in the module

Speaker Notes:

Questions 5–11 ask about a patient's eating behaviors and how much she eats from different food groups. These are questions 4–12 in the Guide for Young Women.

This is important to know because women must eat a variety of foods from all the food groups in order to meet their nutritional needs.

Many women in the United States aren't doing this. For example, approximately 72% of adult women (and most young women) consume less than the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

Note that the questions ask about the number of times per day a woman eats foods from different food groups rather than number of servings. This is because most people tend to think about and describe their eating in terms of frequency rather than serving sizes. The Counseling Support Tool will help you make appropriate recommendations about how much your patient should eat on a daily basis from the different food groups.