Fruitarianism may be adopted for different reasons, including: ethical, health, religious, political, environmental, cultural, aesthetic and economic. There are many varieties of the diet. Some people whose diet consists of 75% or more fruit consider themselves fruitarians.^[2]

Commonly the term "fruit" is used when referring to plant fruits that are sweet, fleshy and contain seeds within the plant fruit (for example, plums, apples, and oranges). However, there are other foods that are not typically considered to be fruits in a culinary sense but are botanically, such as berries, bell peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, nuts and grains.^[3]

Fruitarians use differing definitions of what is considered a "fruit." For example, Herbert M. Shelton, a founder of Orthopathy, included non-fleshy fruits such as nuts, within the definition of fruit.^[4]