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Adviser
The increasing prevalence of unhealthy diets which involve low consumption of fruits and vegetables (FV) among adolescents demanded further study. Thus, this paper generally aimed to compare the knowledge and consumption of FV between public and private senior high school students in Imus City, Cavite. The study was conducted in Imus City wherein 100 SHS students enrolled for S.Y. 2020-2021 were conveniently sampled online. Descriptive statistics like mean and percentages were used to analyze the data. Results showed that the majority (51%) of public SHS respondents were classified under the poor income cluster while most of the respondents from private SHSs belonged to lower middle-income class (24%) and middle middle-income class (24%). More public SHS respondents (49%) obtained a high level of knowledge on nutrient contents of FV and consumed fruits more than the recommended daily serving of FV (61%) while more private SHS respondents (96%) had a high level of knowledge on its health benefits and consumed FV less than the recommended daily serving (77%). The most consumed vegetables by public and private SHS respondents were dahon ng sili and garlic, respectively, while their most consumed fruits were Indian mango and pear. Squash was the most liked vegetable by both groups (public=29%, private=18%) because of its perceived health benefits. Most public SHS respondents considered okra (33%) as their least liked vegetable due to its texture while it was ampalaya (41%) for most private SHS respondents because of its bitter taste. Majority of public SHS respondents identified banana (37%) as their most liked fruit due to its nutrient-density while it was mango (22%) for the majority of private SHS respondents because of its sweet taste. Durian was the least liked fruit of both groups (public=18%, private=10%) mostly because of its smell. Pinakbet (public=33%, private=39%) was the most commonly consumed vegetable dish by both groups, aside from Chop Suey (39%) for private SHS, while fruits were most commonly consumed as whole fruits after meals (public=71%, private=59%). Wet and dry market or palengke was the most usual source of FV of most of the respondents from both groups (public=42%, private=56%) and public SHS respondents were reported to have lower average estimated monthly expenditures on FV. It was concluded that both public and private SHS respondents do not consume adequate amounts of FV despite their high level of knowledge on its nutrients and health benefits thus, aside from their knowledge on FV and socioeconomic status, other factors might have also affected the adequacy of their FV consumption.