We still eat too much sugar and white bread

(Newser)
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American diets are a little less sweet and less crunchy, but there is still too much sugar, white bread and fat clogging the arteries, according to a new study. Overall, the authors estimated that the government's healthy eating index showed a modest improvement over a 16-year period, from an estimated 56 to 58. This is far from commendable – 100 is the best score. Diets are still too heavy, which can contribute to heart disease, diabetes, obesity and other common health problems in the United States, said co-author, Fang Fang. Zhang, a nutrition researcher at Tufts University, near Boston. The study was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reports the AP. The findings 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", wrote the authors, "significant food problems" remain. Among them:

• Bring Americans to reduce snack foods, hot dogs, fat beef, butter and other foods that contain 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%.
• And although the most important change has been a slight drop in added sugars, from about 16% to around 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 in 2016.
• 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.

During the years of the study, diabetes rates in the United States have almost doubled, reaching more than 7%; Obesity rates have increased over many years, with approximately 70% of American adults now being 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, including reducing sugar, salt and saturated fats in foods.

(Read more stories about healthy eating.)