Characteristics of eating occasions that contain fruit

Purpose - This exploratory study seeks to examine self-reported recall of eating occasions that contain fruit. The aim is to obtain insights around the use of fruit in a range of eating occasions, and to identify the ways that various fruit types are incorporated into the diet.

Design/methodology/approach - A longitudinal study obtained detail about eating occasions using 24-hour dietary recall over a three-month period. A total of 25 women aged between 35-66 years with a moderate to high annual household income took part. There were 5,791 eating occasions reported, of which 29 per cent contained fruit.

Findings - Individual fruit types were integrated into the diet in varying ways. Diversity was observed within and between participants in terms of the foods and beverages that were typically consumed during eating occasions that contained fruit. The paper documents contextual characteristics of eating occasions that featured individual fruit types.

Research limitations/implications - The study comprised a small, relatively homogeneous sample population, and no quantities of fruit consumed were measured. However, the longitudinal design enabled a broad range of eating occasions containing fruit to be captured for each participant.

Originality/value - The findings help build a more comprehensive understanding of how fruits are incorporated into the diet. The approach can be applied to a larger and more diverse sample population to explore fruit consumption further. Typical usage patterns for individual fruit may then be used to develop effective suggestions for promoting fruit consumption.