Report: Major Trends in US Food Consumption, 1970 – 2005
The latest USDA report on trends in US Food Consumption over the period 1970 – 2005 was released in March. The conclusions are not good. As noted in the report:
“According to the National Center for Health Statistics, about two-thirds of U.S. adults in 2003-04 were either overweight or obese, compared with 47 percent in 1976-1980. The U.S. obesity rate among adults has more than doubled, from 15 percent in 1976-1980 to 32 percent in 2003-04. The extent of obesity has focused attention on what Americans have been eating. The main reason for this weight gain is the estimated increase in caloric intake without a corresponding increase in physical activity. More than 50 percent of U.S. adults are not physically active. Poor diets and sedentary lifestyles have been associated with diet-related chronic diseases in adults that include hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain kinds of cancer (HHS, 2005).”
Among the report highlights:
- Americans are eating more than double the recommended amount of refined grains per day while eating a third of the recommended amount of whole grains.
- Americans are eating more fruits/veggies, but less than the recommended amounts. Of the five vegetable subgroups, starchy vegetables, particularly potatoes, dominated vegetable consumption, accounting for approximately a third of the total and slightly above the recommended level. Legumes had the lowest estimated consumption level. Overall, Americans consumed a limited variety of vegetables.
- Americans are consuming fewer servings of milk/dairy products; although (high fat) cheese consumption rose.
- Americans consume an average of 32% of calories from added fats and oils (this figure does not include naturally occurring fats from foods). Of the 2005 total, nearly 86 percent consisted of vegetable oils and related products, such as margarine, shortening, and cooking and salad oils. Animal fats, such as butter, lard, and edible tallow, made up the remaining 14 percent.
- Americans eat more than the recommended amounts from the meat/eggs/nuts food group.
- Americans consume an average of 30 teaspoons/day of added sugars and sweeteners (30 teaspoons = 5/8 of a cup)
In other words, consumption of food in general is up…and a lot of that increase is due to energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods: added fats/oils, added sugars, and refined grains.
The report really doesn’t tell us any info that we didn’t already know, but seeing some official figures is pretty sobering.
June 6, 2008
This is sobering indeed… and I doubt the numbers are much different up here in Canada. And, when you couple universal healthcare with an aging population, you’ve got a recipe for financial disaster. But there don’t seem any signs that either federal or provincial health ministers are finding it difficult to sleep in the face of such statistics. Someone has to come up with a decent educational program. Without one, I’m not convinced our healthcare system can survive… especially when we start having to do bypass surgery on 15-year olds.
June 6, 2008
“When we start having to do bypass surgery on 15 year olds???”
It’s already started: http://dir.salon.com/story/mwt/feature/2004/03/16/gastric_bypass/
Even worse, there are some docs who seem to feel that gastric bypass and related surgeries are a superior solution – see: “Fern’s Found the Right Way to Lose Weight”
June 7, 2008
Holy cow! Unbelievable!
I really don’t get the childhood obesity thing. If a child is a 150 pounds overweight, why are parents stocking the larder with Coke and twinkies? Hello?
Sure, crappy food is everywhere — including schools, so it’s hard to control access to junk. But as far as I understand it, all this stuff costs money. Why not pack son or daughter a healthy lunch, and don’t fund bad eating habits? In other words, if junior wants to eat pizza and hot dogs from the school cafeteria, it can come out of his own money. And if he wants to snack on food constantly at home, stock only healthy foods.
I know I probably sound a bit harsh here, but I have a hard time believing every overweight child has a pair of obese, junk-food addict parents at home stocking the larder to fuel their own addictions, and inadvertanly, their children’s as well. Somebody’s buying this stuff for them. Why?
June 7, 2008
I knew a person who had a gastric bypass. Sure she lost weight but the side effects were hideous. It’s seems such a waste to surgically alter the body due to a lack of self control or unwillingness to change an attitude about eating.
Paul, your remarks above mirror my own thoughts. Parents or responsible guardians need to make better decisions and stop feeding or allowing kids to feed off this phony food that is marketed everywhere.
Another sad contributor to poor eating habits is that many families don’t even have one decent meal each day that is actually prepared from basic ingredients at home. Everyone is eating on the go. The word is “convenience, convenience, convenience”.
June 7, 2008
That’s a tough call. I come from a fat family myself, with lots of addictive behavior on display…my mother was overweight, and was constantly shopping, cooking and baking. There were two refrigerators, and the cookie jars/candy dishes were always loaded. My older sister was also overweight, yet it never stopped Mom from producing rich meals and treats. Dad wasn’t fat, but he was a chain smoker and alcoholic – so self-control and moderation weren’t exactly his thing either.
But even thinner people are junk food junkies…food addiction is one of the hardest habits to break, as people need to eat, of course. I’ve known a few who can’t even stand to drink a plain glass of water – it has to be sweetened.
June 7, 2008
That’s an important perspective you make Elissa. Looking at you, one would not think you came from a “fat family”. Yet that type of environment is commonplace. for the sake of others too reading my remarks, I must aplogize for just seeing the one side. I was looking more at the symptom than the cause of obesity.
I have a friend with a similar background to yours. Her mom and all her sisters are obese, so hers has been is a struggle to learn diffeent ways and she has succedded in doing things better for herself and her family.
It’s admirable that some like yourself realize they can do it right even when the environment they were raised in gives little direction or even (good) examples to follow.
Hopefully the word can get out to help millions get off the fat track. Identifying and effectively managing these food addictions will be a most important task. Keep up the good work!
June 7, 2008
No apologies needed. Parenting is a tough gig, and people bring their strengths…and weaknesses to the job.
I had the benefit of genetics: both my mother and sister were very large boned, stocky women. I took after my dad, who was strong, but lean and lanky through his mid-50’s. I also had sibling rivalry to motivate me: my sister was 4 1/2 years older than I was, and used to take full advantage of it – I got pushed around a lot. There was no way for me to compete with her physically, but I could (and did) outwit her – as we grew up, I was always on the lookout for ways to be an irritant. And the one of the best ways – as I discovered – was to be gloriously, obnoxiously thin. I used to laugh when she called me “Bird Legs.” She thought she was insulting me, but it was music to my ears.
Sorry, it’s not exactly the most noble or mature motivation, but whaddya want from a 13 year old?
The pluses of being in that environment was that there was plenty of food to choose from (so it was possible to make good choices), and I learned, from a relatively early age, how turn a blind eye to the “chozzerai” – as my mother called it (it’s Yiddish for “junk”). And, of course, it sparked my interest in nutrition…it may have started as self-defense, but became a lifelong fascination.
May 29, 2010
I know you probably get a lot of comments like this, but just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate the work you have put into the blog. I was wondering if I could put a link on my blog because I am sure my followers would love to read it. Let me know.