Go bananas, take counselling!

Behavioural counselling can increase consumption of fruit and vegetables among deprived adults, finds a study in this week's British Medical Journal​.

The research team, led by Andrew Steptoe of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the university of London in the UK, identified nearly 300 patients, aged 18-70 years, from a health centre in a deprived, ethnically mixed inner city area in the UK. Patients were randomly assigned to two groups.

One group received behavioural counselling (personalised advice from a practice nurse and setting of short and long term goals). The other received nutrition counselling about the importance of increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables).

Patients recorded the number of portions of fruit and vegetables eaten per day. Vitamin and potassium levels, were also assessed.

After 12 months, the researchers noted an increase in consumption of fruit and vegetables by 1.5 portions per day in the behavioural group and 0.9 portions per day in the nutrition group. The proportion of patients eating five or more portions a day increased by 42 per cent and 27 per cent respectively in the two groups.

While no changes were registered by the researchers in vitamin C or potassium concentrations, levels of vitamin E and beta-carotene increased in both groups. However the researchers said the rise in beta-carotene was greater in the behavioural group.

For the scientists, these findings suggest that brief individual counselling is feasible in primary care and could elicit sustained increases in consumption of fruit and vegetables in low income adults in the general population.

Further details of the study can be found in the BMJ​​ 'Behavioural counselling to increase consumption of fruit and vegetables in low income adults: randomised trial'