Seven out of ten most popular vegetables remain top choice during first 3 months of a 12 month weight loss dietary intervention trial

Increasing vegetable consumption is part of dietary advice for weight loss, but how this converts to vegetable choices is not known. In this context, our aim was to identify the main vegetable groups reported by the study sample in the Healthy Eating and Lifestyle Trial [ACTRN1260000784011] at baseline (Oct 2010-Feb 2011) and after 3mo (Feb - May 2011). Data from diet histories (DH) were analyzed using the AUSNUT 2007 database in Foodworks (Xyris, version 6.0.2562) to determine the average daily amount (g) of vegetables consumed by the study sample. Baseline DH (n=113 subjects; 85 female) exposed 32 vegetable categories. The top 10 : tomato (69.9g), potato (58.2g), cucumber (27.5g), carrot (25.7g), lettuce (19.4g), broccoli(17.0g), mixed vegetables (15.3g), leafy greens(12.2g), onion(12.0g), avocado (12.0g) contributed to 74% of the total (365g/day). After 3mo (n=109 subjects), 7 remained in the top 10 (contributing 72% of average consumption, 505g/day), with legumes (35.0g), capsicum (22.8g), pumpkin (15.4g) replacing leafy greens, onion, avocado . Tomato remained top ranked but potato dropped from 2nd to 5th rank (58.2g vs36.5g), and mixed vegetables shifted from 7th to 4th (15.3 g vs 39.1g). Baseline intakes were similar to National Nutrition Survey 1995 levels (240g -300g). Consumption appeared to increase for the group, above the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating recommendation of ~ 375g/day. Advice to increase vegetables may influence vegetables choices, with tomatoes a mainstay and frozen vegetables a feasible option. More detailed analysis may be informative for strategies to increase vegetable consumption in this context.