Increased consumption of fruit and vegetables could save 2.7 million lives per year
This was the finding of the WHO Global Forum on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD) Prevention and Control, 2002.
Read about risk factors and quantification
This has prompted the World Health Organization & the Food and Agriculture Organization to announce this month, a global initiative to promote greater consumption of fruit and vegetables.
A recent report by WHO/FAO called Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases recommended a daily intake of 400grams of fruit and vegetables a day, excluding starchy tubers like potatoes. It concluded that this could reduce the burden of NCDs across the world significantly.
However, both organizations concede that their initiative is hampered by an insufficient supply of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Ironically the poorest people in the developing countries are often the lowest consumers of fruit and vegetables, despite these countries often being mass growers of produce.
Read the WHO/FAO report Diet, nutrition & the prevention of chronic diseases
More information about the connection between fruit & vegetables, health and production
