Australians are not eating enough fruit and vegetables, according to a study commissioned by the nation's horticulture industry.
The study examined the eating habits of almost 150,000 people and found most fail to consume the recommended daily amount of fruit and vegetables.
Most of those surveyed did not eat two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables recommended every day.
The CSIRO's Professor Manny Noakes, a co-author of the report, said the survey suggests few people are meeting those guidelines.
"Only one in five people are meeting the recommended servings of two fruits and five vegetables a day," he said.
"And that's particularly the case for people who are younger, (who) tend to do a lot worse.
"Also, if you're male, you tend to do a lot worse as well."
The study was commissioned by Horticultural Innovation Australia, a marketing and research organisation for Australia's fruit and vegetable growers.
David Moore, the general manager of research, marketing and investment for Horticultural Innovation Australia, said there is no good reason for Australians to fall short of the recommended intake.
"Fruit and vegetables in Australia, when you look at them globally, are relatively cheap," he said.
"We grow some of the world's safest and highest-quality fruits and vegetables in Australia, and we're really in a quite privileged position.
"Shortages are rare, quality is excellent, availability is excellent, so there's no real reason why every household shouldn't really try to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into their daily consumption."
Rebecca Jenkin said she lost weight and has more energy after increasing her intake of fruit and vegetables, adding that it was not difficult to make the change.
"Fast food isn't that fast. You've got to go out and get it. You've got to wait for it,” she said.
“It's not hard to steam some vegies in a saucepan or whatever. And, really, there are lots of things you can do - just grab a bag of salad on your way home from work at the supermarket, or I go to the green grocer and buy a box of vegies.
“(It is) much, much cheaper than … [going to] grab some convenient takeaway, or so-called convenient takeaway."
Professor Noakes said people wanting to increase their intake could look at Asian, Greek and Italian dishes, which are laden with vegetables.
"Different ethnic styles of eating, such as Asian cooking, Greek meals, some Italian meals, generally tend to have a lot more vegetables as part of the meal,” he said.
“So the integration of those different ethnicities in our cuisine is a really, really positive thing. So, if you're going to a Chinese restaurant, stir fry is a pretty good way of getting a lot of fruits and vegies, too."
