ParrotPalParrotPal Data · short read
Only about 1 in 9 fully logged days include five different fruits and vegetables
Key findings
11.5% of fully logged days by UK ParrotPal members, February to August 2026, included 5 or more different fruits and vegetables, 32.1% included 3 or more, and 26.0% none.
Five a day is the UK’s best-known food target, but it rarely shows up in a diary. On 11.5% of fully logged days members logged 5 or more different fruits and vegetables. The typical day had 1.
11.5%of logged days had 5+ different fruit and veg
Days with 5+ different fruit and veg
Share of logged daysBy member: of members with 7 or more full days, 3.9% reached 5 on most of their days, and 62.4% at least once.
Weekdays did better than weekends: 13.5% of logged Tuesdays against 8.3% of Saturdays. The most-logged fruit was banana (46.0% of members) and the most-logged vegetable salad leaves (47.1%).
How we counted: each different fruit or vegetable counts once a day, whatever the amount. Potatoes don’t count; juice, pulses and dried fruit count once each. Diaries don’t record 80 g portions reliably, and mixed dishes (a curry, a stew) count as none, so the true figure is likely higher.
What this means
Variety, not just volume, is the gap: most logged days have one or two fruits and vegetables, not five.
What the research says
NHS guidance: an adult portion is 80 g of fruit or vegetables. Potatoes don’t count; beans and pulses count only once a day, and fruit juice and smoothies have a daily limit too.
NHS (2026). 5 A Day: what counts?. NHS website Eat well. www.nhs.uk
Research describes other groups of people; our figures are what ParrotPal members logged.
The figures
| Day | Share of logged days with 5+ fruit and veg |
|---|---|
| Monday | 13.0% |
| Tuesday | 13.5% |
| Wednesday | 12.9% |
| Thursday | 11.8% |
| Friday | 9.3% |
| Saturday | 8.3% |
| Sunday | 10.2% |
Method in brief. UK ParrotPal members’ anonymised food diaries, 1 February to 31 August 2026. A logged day has 3 or more items and 800 to 6,000 kcal on a UK calendar day; deleted entries don’t count. Five a day here means 5 or more different fruits and vegetables logged that day (potatoes excluded; juice, pulses and dried fruit count once).
Aggregates only: every group shown has 50 or more members and no share rests on fewer than 10. Patterns in what members logged, not causes. who’s counted · the 50/10 rule · logged isn’t eaten · how foods are named and counted.
Full report: What Britain logs.
Questions people ask
How many people eat five a day?
In ParrotPal food diaries, 11.5% of fully logged days included 5 or more different fruits and vegetables. This counts variety, not 80 g portions.
Do potatoes count?
No. Potatoes don’t count towards five a day under NHS guidance, so we left them out.
Is the real figure higher?
Probably. Mixed dishes and unlogged snacks don’t count here.
Cite this
Free to use with credit and a link to the source page. The figures and chart are licensed CC BY 4.0.
Credit line
Source: ParrotPal food diary data, parrotpal.com/data/five-a-day-food-diaries/
Citation
ParrotPal (2026). Only about 1 in 9 fully logged days include five different fruits and vegetables. ParrotPal Data. https://parrotpal.com/data/five-a-day-food-diaries/. Licensed CC BY 4.0.
Embed the chart (an image with the credit link)
<figure><img src="https://parrotpal.com/data/five-a-day-food-diaries/chart.svg" alt="Days with 5+ different fruit and veg: chart by ParrotPal" width="760" style="max-width:100%;height:auto" /><figcaption>Source: <a href="https://parrotpal.com/data/five-a-day-food-diaries/">ParrotPal food diary data</a> (CC BY 4.0)</figcaption></figure>
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