Fruit and Vegetables Within the Current Food Production System and Health

Globally, the message of fruit and vegetables or of '5 a Day' is one of the most widely promoted dietary recommendations. Beyond this, increased fruit and vegetable (FV) intake has been associated with optimal health and with reduced risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease. However, assessing dietary FV intake is compounded by many challenges. A chief challenge relates to how information about FV intake is calculated. Traditional methods used to measure dietary intakes of FV often suffer from over-reporting, whereby participants exaggerate or artificially inflate their intakes.
A series of analyses will be conducted which will address some areas of uncertainty in the area of fruit and vegetables, dietary biomarkers and health research. Therefore, this PhD will explore:
1) Can measurement of targeted biomarkers help improve the dietary assessment of FV intake? (Statistical analysis of already analysed biomarker data)
2) What is the current bioactive and pesticide content of FV currently being consumed by UK populations, including consideration of effect of cultivar, storage and processing? (Systematic review and new food-based analysis)
3) What is the likely impact of differences in bioactives and pesticides observed in (2) on intake levels and health outcomes? (Modelling of pooled FV intervention studies using data from (2))
4) When people are asked to increase FV intake what changes do they make and how does this increased FV intake affect other food choices? (Statistical analysis of pooled FV dietary intervention studies)