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A new state-by-state report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that the majority of Americans fail to consume the recommend amount of fruits and vegetables, HealthDay News reports. The report, the State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009, also notes that no state has achieved objectives outlined in the Healthy People 2010 initiative, which aims to have at least 75 percent of Americans consume the recommended two or more daily servings of fruit and at least 50 percent of Americans consume three or more daily servings of vegetables. The report notes that just 32 percent and 13 percent of high school students consume the recommend servings of fruits and vegetables, respectively, with fewer than one in 10 consuming enough of both. Providing the first state-by-state data on fruit and vegetable consumption, the report highlights three policy and environmental areas that could increase consumption rates: Healthier food retail, availability of healthier foods in schools and food system support. Currently, only eight states have policies for food retail improvements aimed at increasing the number of full-service grocery stores that provide healthier foods. The report also found that only 21 percent of U.S. middle and high schools offer fruits and non-fried vegetables in vending machines, school stores or snack bars. The report also spotlights the need for food system support, noting that food policy councils—which make recommendations regarding community gardens, farmers' markets and farm-to-school programs—can help increase the availability of healthy foods. Heidi Blanck, a CDC scientist who worked on the report, says it "is a call for states, communities, schools and families to support increased fruit and vegetable consumption." Noting that "a diet high in fruits and vegetables is important for optimal child growth, maintaining a healthy weight" and disease prevention, William H. Dietz, M.D., director of the CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, says the report provides states a snapshot of fruit and vegetable consumption among their residents and can help them devise plans to increase such consumption (HealthDay News, 9/29/09; Stobbe, AP/Baltimore Sun, 9/29/09; CDC release).