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Snacks, hot dogs, fatty beef, butter, sugar, white bread and fat clogging the arteries.
A new study suggests that Americans still eat too much bad food.
Although American diets are a little less sweet and a little crunchier.
Overall, the authors estimated that the government's healthy eating index improved slightly over a 16-year period, from 56 to 58, according to estimates. So it's far from commendable – 100 is the best score.
Diets are still too heavy and can contribute to heart disease, diabetes, obesity and other common health problems in the United States, said co-author, Fang Fang Zhang, Nutrition researcher at Tufts University, near Boston.
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The study was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The results come from an analysis of health surveys conducted by the US government from 1999 to 2016 among nearly 44,000 adults.
"Despite the improvements observed," the authors wrote, "there are still significant food problems."
Among them: urge Americans to reduce snack foods, hot dogs, fatty beef, butter and other foods containing saturated fats. The study found that these unhealthy fats increased from 11.5% to nearly 12% of daily calories, above the recommended limit of 10%.
One study suggests that American diets are a little less sweet and less crunchy, but there is still too much butter, sugar and white bread. (IStock)
And although the biggest change was a slight drop in added sugars, from about 16% to about 14%, it's still too high. The government says that less than 10% of daily calories should come from added sugars. The researchers believe that fewer sugary sodas contributed to the decline, but Zhang pointed out that the added sugars were often found in foods that did not even look sweet, including yogurts and tomato sauce.
Fruits, nuts, oatmeal and other wholegrain cereals are some of the types of foods that adults eat a bit more. Still, the study found that each of these contributed less than 5% of daily calories.
Salt consumption decreased slightly and a slight decline in fruit juice resulted in a decline in low quality carbohydrates. But these still account for 42% of daily calories, including many sources of highly processed white bread and other refined grains, Zhang said.
The study is based on in-person health surveys conducted every two years that ask adults to remember what foods they have eaten in the previous 24 hours. Beginning in 2003, this question was asked of adults twice, several days apart.
The study lists food groups rather than individual foods; For example, "whole grains", no oatmeal, and "refined grains," not white bread, but Zhang said that these two foods are among the most common grains in the American diet.
US diet guidelines recommend a "healthy eating pattern" to reduce the risk of developing a chronic disease. The focus should be on nutrient-rich foods, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains and low-fat dairy products; more varied protein sources, including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, nuts and seeds, say the recommendations.
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In the years of the study, diabetes rates in the United States nearly doubled to more than 7%; Obesity rates have increased in many of these years, with approximately 70% of US adults now overweight or obese. Heart disease remains the leading cause of death.
In addition to ongoing public health efforts, "food industry cooperation" is essential, said a newspaper editorial, notably to reduce sugar, salt and saturated fats in foods.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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