About one in three American teenagers ate no fruit at all on a given day, according to a federal report released Tuesday that tracks how children's eating habits change as they grow. The National Center for Health Statistics report on children's fruit intake found that 66.2% of adolescents ages 12 to 19 ate any fruit on a given day from August 2021 to August 2023, compared with 91.8% of children ages 2 to 5.
The gap matters because the teen years are when young people take more control over what they eat. Fruits and vegetables supply vitamins, minerals, and fiber that support growth and development, and the report notes that different fruits and vegetables contain different amounts and types of nutrients. A habit that is easy to keep in a preschooler's lunchbox may not carry into high school without some effort at home.
The findings appear in Health E-Stat 123, which draws on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a nationally representative federal survey. The report provides national estimates only, so it cannot show differences between states or communities.
A Steady Decline from Preschool to High School
The drop appears at each age step. Among all children and teens ages 2 to 19, 77.0% ate any fruit on a given day (95% confidence interval, 74.2% to 79.8%). That share was 91.8% for ages 2 to 5 (88.2% to 95.3%), 83.3% for ages 6 to 11 (80.5% to 86.1%), and 66.2% for ages 12 to 19 (61.3% to 71.1%). NCHS reported a statistically significant decreasing trend by age.
Each fruit category followed the same pattern. Citrus, melons, or berries were eaten by 53.9% of preschoolers but only 25.3% of teens. Other whole fruit fell from 71.4% to 46.6%, and 100% fruit juice fell from 56.9% to 35.3%.
Vegetables told a different story. About 91.2% of all children and teens ate some vegetable on a given day, with no significant change by age. The share eating dark green vegetables rose with age, from 19.8% of young children to 27.3% of teens, though that still means fewer than three in 10 teens ate them on a given day.
A Teen Pattern That Has Barely Shifted
The teen figure is similar to older federal data. A 2014 NCHS data brief using 2009 to 2010 survey data found that 66.3% of adolescents ate fruit on a given day. A later NCHS brief covering 2015 to 2018 put the figure at 64.3% for adolescents and 75.3% for all children and teens. The newest survey cycle collected the first dietary recall by telephone three to seven days after the in-person exam, rather than at the exam center, so comparisons with earlier years should be made with caution.
The new report does not break results down by family income. The 2015 to 2018 brief did, finding that fruit intake rose from 72.1% among children in families below 130% of the federal poverty level to 79.6% among those at or above 350%. Cost and access may still play a role, but the new data cannot show how much.
Outside researchers have reported a similar pattern. In a July analysis in BMJ Global Health, Tufts University researchers found that U.S. babies and toddlers were among the world's top consumers of fruits and vegetables for their age, while older U.S. children had some of the lowest intake levels, HealthDay reported on the global study. Senior researcher Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts, said, "When children don't get enough of the right foods, it hurts their bodies and minds, limiting their energy, metabolism, learning and mood."
MedicalDaily Evidence Check
This is a cross-sectional survey of 1,765 children and teens, including 758 adolescents, published by NCHS as a Health E-Stat rather than in a peer-reviewed journal. It measured whether a child ate any fruit or vegetable during a single 24-hour period, not how much, and it did not compare intake with federal dietary recommendations.
The report does not explain why teens eat less fruit, and it did not assess weight, disease, or other health outcomes. Dietary recalls can be affected by misreporting and recall bias, although NCHS notes that they are reliable for population-level estimates. Because the official USDA food group file for this survey cycle was not yet available, the researchers built a custom version using established USDA methods.
The finding describes a national pattern rather than any individual child's diet, and it does not change current nutrition guidance.
Small Changes Families Can Make at Home
Keeping washed whole fruit where it is easy to see, packing fruit for school or practice, and buying frozen or canned fruit without added sugar can make fruit an easier choice. Families can treat 100% juice as one option rather than the main source of fruit, since whole fruit keeps fiber that is largely missing from juice.
Parents who want guidance can raise diet questions at a teen's annual checkup or sports physical. A teen with signs of very restrictive eating, rapid weight change, persistent fatigue, or dizziness should be evaluated by a clinician, since those symptoms have many possible causes that a national survey cannot address.
For families on tight budgets, federal school breakfast and lunch programs include fruit, and local food assistance offices can help stretch grocery money. Frozen and canned fruit also keeps longer, which can reduce waste.
The report sends a clear signal that the years between elementary school and graduation are when fruit most often drops off the plate, which makes steady habits at home especially useful during that stretch.
Key Questions Answered
What did the CDC report find? From August 2021 to August 2023, 77.0% of U.S. children and teens ate any fruit on a given day. The share dropped from 91.8% of children ages 2 to 5 to 66.2% of teens ages 12 to 19.
Did vegetable intake also fall with age? No. About 91.2% of children and teens ate some vegetables on a given day, with no significant change by age. Dark green vegetable intake rose with age.
Which fruits saw the biggest drop? Citrus, melons, or berries fell the most, from 53.9% of preschoolers to 25.3% of teens. Other whole fruit and 100% juice also declined.
Does this mean teens are eating unhealthy diets? Not necessarily. The survey measured whether a child ate any fruit on one day, not total diet quality or health outcomes.
Can I compare these numbers with past years? Only with caution. Earlier surveys found similar teen rates, 66.3% in 2009 to 2010 and 64.3% in 2015 to 2018, but the newest cycle collected the first dietary recall by phone, which could affect comparisons.
How can parents help teens eat more fruit? Keep ready-to-eat whole fruit visible, pack fruit for school and activities, choose frozen or canned fruit without added sugar, and ask a pediatrician about nutrition at routine visits.
