Nearly one third of US diet consists of junk food
A new analysis of the foods Americans eat finds that sugary snacks and sodas reign supreme over healthier options such as vegetables and fruit.
Gladys Block, professor of epidemiology and public health nutrition at the University of California, Berkeley, has quantified the types of foods the United States population eats and ranked them by the amount of calories they contribute.
Her findings, published in the June issue of the Journal of Food Chemistry and Analysis, reveal that three food groups - sweets and desserts, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages - comprise almost 25 percent of all calories consumed by Americans. Salty snacks and fruit-flavored drinks make up another five percent, bringing the total energy contributed by nutrient-poor foods to at least 30 percent of the total calorie intake.
Block’s calculations took into account the number of respondents who reported eating a particular food item, the portion sizes of the food, and the nutrient and energy content of the food. For example, the calories provided by sodas were summed up from individual reports and then divided by the total number of calories consumed by the entire population to get the proportion of energy provided. The foods then were ranked by their contribution to the total energy intake.
"It’s important to emphasize that sweets, desserts, snacks and alcohol are contributing calories without providing vitamins and minerals," said Block. "In contrast, such healthy foods as vegetables and fruit make up only 10 percent of the caloric intake in the U.S. diet. A large proportion of Americans are undernourished in terms of vitamins and minerals. You can actually be obese and still be undernourished with regard to important nutrients. We shouldn’t be telling people to eat less, we should be telling people to eat differently."
http://www.epha.org/a/1279
A new analysis of the foods Americans eat finds that sugary snacks and sodas reign supreme over healthier options such as vegetables and fruit.
Gladys Block, professor of epidemiology and public health nutrition at the University of California, Berkeley, has quantified the types of foods the United States population eats and ranked them by the amount of calories they contribute.
Her findings, published in the June issue of the Journal of Food Chemistry and Analysis, reveal that three food groups - sweets and desserts, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages - comprise almost 25 percent of all calories consumed by Americans. Salty snacks and fruit-flavored drinks make up another five percent, bringing the total energy contributed by nutrient-poor foods to at least 30 percent of the total calorie intake.
Block’s calculations took into account the number of respondents who reported eating a particular food item, the portion sizes of the food, and the nutrient and energy content of the food. For example, the calories provided by sodas were summed up from individual reports and then divided by the total number of calories consumed by the entire population to get the proportion of energy provided. The foods then were ranked by their contribution to the total energy intake.
"It’s important to emphasize that sweets, desserts, snacks and alcohol are contributing calories without providing vitamins and minerals," said Block. "In contrast, such healthy foods as vegetables and fruit make up only 10 percent of the caloric intake in the U.S. diet. A large proportion of Americans are undernourished in terms of vitamins and minerals. You can actually be obese and still be undernourished with regard to important nutrients. We shouldn’t be telling people to eat less, we should be telling people to eat differently."
http://www.epha.org/a/1279
The US 'recession diet'
McDonald's has said that its global sales are rising, as more people turn to fast food during the recession.
Matthew Price reports from New York.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7885312.stm
McDonald's has said that its global sales are rising, as more people turn to fast food during the recession.
Matthew Price reports from New York.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7885312.stm
