Federal recommendations suggest that Americans eat nine servings of fruit and vegetables a day-up from five servings. Consider the recommendations a goal-not a requirement. The biggest dietary health improvement comes to people who increase their intake of fruit and vegetables from one serving a day to two. Everything above that brings a smaller benefit. The same applies to the new exercise guidelines, which call for 50 minutes of exercise most days to avoid gaining weight. Consider that a goal-the old recommendation of 30 minutes still brings substantial health benefits.

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