Older adults with low fruit and vegetable consumption may benefit from raising their intakes to moderate amounts in order to reduce their hip fracture risk, a recent study found. Researchers investigated the potential association between fruit and vegetable intake and hip fracture incidence in a large sample of older adults (n=142,018 individuals, 116,509 women, aged ≥60 years) from 5 cohorts. Subjects were followed up prospectively for 1,911,482 person-years, accumulating 5,552 hip fractures. Researchers found:

• Intake of ≤1 serving/day of fruit and vegetables combined was associated with 39% higher hip fracture risk in comparison with moderate intake (>3 and ≤5 servings/day).

• Higher intakes (>5 servings/day) were not associated with lower risk in comparison with the same reference.

• Associations were more evident among women.

• A daily intake of 1 or <1 servings of fruits and vegetables was associated with increased hip fracture risk in relation to moderate daily intakes.

Citation: Benetou V, Orfanos P, Feskanich D, et al. Fruit and vegetable intake and hip fracture incidence in older men and women: The CHANCES Project. [Published online ahead of print June 8, 2016]. J Bone Miner Res. doi:10.1002/jbmr.2850.