Where in America Are Women Eating A Healthy Diet?

Where in America Are Women Eating the Healthiest Diets?

Three New England states top the list of women eating the most fruits and veggies in the country.

By Cynthia Ramnarace - March 26, 2013

Photo Credit: iVillage

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Women in the Green Mountain State are eating more greens than anywhere else in the country. At 36 percent, the rate of women in Vermont who get five servings of fruits and veggies a day is more than twice that of the worst ranked state: Oklahoma at just 17 percent. Women in Maine, New Hampshire, Virginia and California are also doing a good job of eating a balanced diet.

Slacking on your fruit and veggies may put you at risk for serious health problems and may up your risk for heart disease. Not only can the nutrients in fruits and vegetables prevent chronic health problems such as heart disease but a produce-rich diet can help a women lose weight and maintain a healthy number on the scale. This seems to ring true in Vermont, among the 10 states with the lowest percentage of overweight women. Compare that with Oklahoma, one of the top 10 heaviest states among women in America.

The new “My Plate” federal nutrition guidelines advise filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables at every meal. To find out exactly how many cups you should be eating, check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fruit and Vegetable calculator.

Here’s how the states rank on healthy diets. The #1 state is the healthiest while #50 is the least healthy. All figures are percentages of women who eat an average of five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

Rank	State	%
1	Vermont	35.9
2	Maine	34.2
3	New Hampshire	33.2
4	Virginia	33
5	California	32.9
6	Connecticut	32.7
7	Montana	32.3
8	Massachusetts	31.7
9	Maryland	31.3
10	Idaho	31.2
11	Oregon	31
12	Washington	30.5
13	New York	30.4
14	New Jersey	30.2
15	Rhode Island	29.6
16	Colorado	29.5
17	Utah	29.3
18	Wyoming	29
19	Arizona	28.6
20	Florida	28.3
21	Texas	28.2
22	Delaware	28
22	Pennsylvania	28
24	Alaska	27.9
25	Georgia	27.7
26	North Dakota	27.6
27	Hawaii	27.3
28	Wisconsin	27.2
29	New Mexico	26.8
30	Missouri	26.6
31	Illinois	26.5
32	Michigan	26.4
33	Minnesota	26.3
34	Tennessee	26.1
35	Nebraska	25.8
36	Nevada	25.1
37	Arkansas	24.6
37	Ohio	24.6
39	Kentucky	24.1
40	Indiana	23.7
40	North Carolina	23.7
42	Iowa	23.5
43	Kansas	22.6
44	Alabama	22.3
45	South Carolina	20.6
46	South Dakota	20
47	West Virginia	18.8
48	Louisiana	18.7
48	Mississippi	18.7
50	Oklahoma	16.7

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009

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