Report Title:

Consumption of 5 or more Daily Servings of Fruits and Vegetables

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, fruits and vegetables promote good health and a healthy lifestyle because, in most cases, they are low in fat and calories, contain no cholesterol, contain fiber, contain numerous essential nutrients, including vitamins and minerals, and contain phytochemicals which may provide additional protection against the risk of cancer and heart disease; and

WHEREAS, national health authorities recommend that Americans increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables to five to nine servings per day to promote good health and reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease; and

WHEREAS, research shows that people who eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day have one-half the risk of developing cancer as those who eat fewer servings of fruits and vegetables; and

WHEREAS, less than forty per cent of all American adults eat the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day, and only twenty-six per cent of children aged two to nineteen eat the recommended five or more servings per day; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Health is striving to increase public awareness of the importance of eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day for better health; and

WHEREAS, increased consumption of locally grown fruits and vegetables promotes a sustainable environment; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the Senate concurring, that the Departments of Health, Agriculture, and Education are urged to promote increased awareness of the importance of eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per thirty-six-day; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Departments of Health, Agriculture, and Education are requested to submit a report to the Legislature by September 1, 2002, on progress made in promoting increased awareness of the importance of eating five or more fruits and vegetables per day; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, and the Superintendent and the Chairperson of the Board of the Education.