Consuming less than five servings per day of fruits and vegetables is associated with increased risk of hip fracture.
That's acording to a study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
The research team - led by Liisa Byberg, PhD, of Uppsala University in Sweden -examined the dose-response association between habitual fruit and vegetable intake and hip fracture in a cohort study involving 40,644 men and 34,947 women, aged 45 to 83 years, who were free from cardiovascular disease and cancer. Participants were followed for a mean age of 14.2 years.
Of the patients, 3,644 hip fractures (62 per cent in women) during 1,037,645 person-years were observed.
Compared with those consuming more than five servings per day, men and women with zero consumption of fruit and veg had an 88 per cent higher rate of hip fracture.
With higher intake of fruit and vegetables, the rate was gradually lower, the study claims.
The hazard ratio was no lower for more than five servings per day, though, the team found.
'There is a dose-response association between fruit and vegetable intake and hip fracture such that an intake below the recommended five servings per day confers higher rates of hip fracture,' concluded the researchers.
“Intakes above this recommendation do not seem to further lower the risk.”
