There’s always so much fuss about getting kids to eat more fruits and vegetables. But how can we possibly expect them to listen to us if we’re not doing it ourselves?

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control found that only 33 percent of adults eat two servings of fruit per day and a dismal 27 percent eat three servings of vegetables a day. And those numbers haven’t budged in nearly 20 years.

No wonder obesity and other serious health problems are at all-time highs.

And the sad part is, this bad habit is affecting our kids. Just like anything else, they need positive role models to set a good example for them.

So next time you find yourself starting the standard lecture on how important fruits and vegetables are and how good they actually taste, stop. Show them instead by giving yourself another serving.

Another tip? Serve fruits and vegetables your family enjoys. After all, forcing them to sit at the table until they’ve eaten their broccoli if they hate it will only make them less likely to try other vegetables later on. So if they like string beans, baby carrots, or celery sticks, go ahead and make those the vegetables du jour on a regular basis.

Better to have the whole family eating lots of produce they like than fighting over taking the obligatory two bites of a particular fruit or vegetable that they don’t.