American diets are still lousy, according to the latest research
The average American diet improved only slightly over the past 2 decades
It’s believed that more than 1 million Americans die every year from diet-related diseases, and, if dietary intake data is accurate , we can expect these numbers to remain alarmingly high. The percentage of U.S. adults with what can be classified as a ‘poor diet’ decreased from 49% to 37% between 1999 and 2020, based on data from a regular federal survey of American dietary patterns. But the proportion of Americans with an ideal diet remained starkly low, rising only from 0.7% to 1.6%, researchers at Tufts University in Boston found. The number of people consuming a poor diet did not significantly change among those experiencing food insecurity. For the study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers analyzed federal diet survey data for 51,703 adults. Diet quality was measured using a score sheet developed by the American Heart Association. Poor, intermediate, and ideal diets were defined as <40 percent, 40 to 79.9 percent, and ≥80 percent adherence to the American Heart Association’s 2020 continuous diet score, respectively. There were notable improvements, however. For example, people are generally eating less refined grains and drinking fewer sugary beverages and fruit juices. However, intake of fruits and vegetables, fish and processed meat remained stable. Gains in dietary quality were highest among young adults, women, Hispanic people, and those with higher levels of education and income, researchers said.
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, is a James Beard Award–winning food journalist, dietitian and author of the cookbook Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sport + Adventure (VeloPress 2016). He has written for dozens of magazines, including Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Shape, Men’s Fitness and Muscle and Fitness.
