Fruit and vegetable consumption (i10)
- 31/10/2025
- objective
- assessment
In 2023, the share of the population aged 6 years and older that eats the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables (at least 5 portions) equaled to 10.5% in Belgium. To achieve the sustainable development goal by 2030, this figure must increase. The current time series comprises just two points and it is therefore impossible to assess the evolution of this indicator.
Fruit and vegetable consumption - Belgium
percentage of the population aged 6 years and over that eats the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables (at least 5 portions)
| 2018 | 2023 | 2023//2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 12.7 | 10.5 | -3.7 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | |||
The 95% confidence interval for the share of the population aged 6 years and over that eats the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables (at least 5 portions) in 2023 is 9,6% to 11,5% for Belgium.
Source: Sciensano (2025), Belgian Health Interview Survey - Interactive Analysis, https://healthinformation.sciensano.be/shiny/hisia/ (consulted on 03/10/2025).
Fruit and vegetable consumption by region - Belgium
percentage of the population aged 6 years and over that eats the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables (at least 5 portions)
| 2018 | 2023 | 2023//2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brussels-Capital Region | 15.8 | 16.7 | 1.1 |
| Flemish Region | 11.3 | 9.4 | -3.6 |
| Walloon Region | 14.0 | 10.5 | -5.6 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | |||
The 95% confidence interval for the share of the population aged 6 years and over that eats the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables (at least 5 portions) in 2023 is 13,7% to 19,6% for Brussels, 8,3% to 10,6% for Flanders and 8,5% to 12,4% for Wallonia.
Source: Sciensano (2025), Belgian Health Interview Survey - Interactive Analysis, https://healthinformation.sciensano.be/shiny/hisia/ (consulted on 03/10/2025).
Fruit and vegetable consumption by sex - Belgium
percentage of the population aged 6 years and over that eats the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables (at least 5 portions)
| 2018 | 2023 | 2023//2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| females | 15.6 | 12.8 | -3.9 |
| males | 9.8 | 8.2 | -3.5 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | |||
Source: Sciensano (2025), Belgian Health Interview Survey - Interactive Analysis, https://healthinformation.sciensano.be/shiny/hisia/ (consulted on 03/10/2025).
Fruit and vegetable consumption by age - Belgium
percentage of the population aged 6 years and over that eats the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables (at least 5 portions)
| 2018 | 2023 | 2023//2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6-17 | 9.0 | 7.8 | -2.8 |
| 18-24 | 10.7 | 8.9 | -3.6 |
| 25-49 | 11.8 | 9.1 | -5.1 |
| 50-64 | 14.5 | 12.5 | -2.9 |
| >64 | 16.1 | 13.2 | -3.9 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | |||
Source: Sciensano (2025), Belgian Health Interview Survey - Interactive Analysis, https://healthinformation.sciensano.be/shiny/hisia/ (consulted on 03/10/2025).
Fruit and vegetable consumption by education - Belgium
percentage of the population aged 6 years and over that eats the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables (at least 5 portions)
| 2018 | 2023 | 2023//2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| lower secondary education | 9.2 | 7.3 | -4.5 |
| higher secondary education | 9.4 | 9.0 | -0.9 |
| higher education | 16.0 | 12.4 | -5.0 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | |||
Source: Sciensano (2025), Belgian Health Interview Survey - Interactive Analysis, https://healthinformation.sciensano.be/shiny/hisia/ (consulted on 03/10/2025).
Fruit and vegetable consumption by income - Belgium
percentage of the population aged 6 years and over that eats the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables (at least 5 portions)
| 2018 | 2023 | 2023//2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| quintile 1 | 10.7 | 11.5 | 1.5 |
| quintile 2 | 11.9 | 9.0 | -5.4 |
| quintile 3 | 13.5 | 9.3 | -7.2 |
| quintile 4 | 12.6 | 10.7 | -3.2 |
| quintile 5 | 15.5 | 11.8 | -5.3 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | |||
Source: Sciensano (2025), Belgian Health Interview Survey - Interactive Analysis, https://healthinformation.sciensano.be/shiny/hisia/ (consulted on 03/10/2025).
Definition: the share of the population aged 6 years and older that eats the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables (at least 5 portions), was assessed using the questions: “How many portions of fruit, of any sort, do you eat each day?”, “How many portions of vegetables or salad, excluding juice and potatoes, do you eat each day?” and “How often do you drink 100% pure fruit or vegetable juice, excluding juice made from concentrate and sweetened juice?”. Based on these three questions, the proportion of people who eat at least 5 portions of fruit and/or vegetables per day is calculated (the third question is eligible for 1 portion). The following breakdowns are available for this indicator: region, sex, income, age and education. The data come from the national health surveys carried out in Belgium by Sciensano.
Goal: the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables must increase.
The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs adopted by the UN in 2015 include target 2.2: “By 2030 end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving by 2025 the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women, and older persons”.
The Federal Long-Term Strategic Vision for Sustainable Development contains objective 27: “Everyone will have access to safe, healthy food with high nutritional value.” (Belgian Official Gazette, 08/10/2013). “Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption to reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases” is an important component of a healthy diet (WHO, 2023).
UN indicator: the selected indicator does not correspond to any SDG indicator but is related to target 2.2 since a shortage of fruits and vegetables consumption is one aspect of malnutrition.
Sources
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Belgian Official Gazette: http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi/welcome.pl; research on http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/doc/rech_f.htm.
- WHO (2023), Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption to reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases, https://www.who.int/tools/elena/interventions/fruit-vegetables-ncds (consulted on 22/08/2025).
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