Recommendations
The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourage a healthy balance of nutritious foods. A strong emphasis was also placed on calorie control and physical activity.
One of the recommendations of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines is that every person consume a minimum of five fruit and vegetable servings per day. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines further recommend a selection of fruits and vegetables that includes all five vegetable subgroups (dark green, orange, legumes, starchy vegetables, and other vegetables) several times a week.
Realities
Self reported data suggest that dietary consumption of fruits and vegetables has not improved in the past six years. Montana BRFSS data indicate that only 24% of adult Montanans consumed the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Similarly, in the US, approximately 22% of the US population reported eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, and in 2005, the prevalence remained relatively unchanged at 23%. The YRBS reports 
fruit and vegetable consumption by youth at an even lower rate than adults.
No matter what kind of food a person eats, the basic rule to lose weight is that people must take in fewer calories than they expend. When they are fresh, frozen, or canned without added sugar, fruits and vegetables are foods with “low energy density,” that is, they have relatively few calories per gram. So people can eat a large volume of fruits and vegetables and feel full without consuming an excessive amount of calories. Several short-term studies suggest that increasing fruits and vegetables in people’s diet results in their eating to the point of fullness while consuming fewer calories. Substituting fruits and vegetables for more energy-dense foods appears to be a promising practice for helping people maintain or lose weight. In addition, fruits and vegetables are rich in micronutrients and phytochemicals, important for proper metabolic functioning and overall health.