More people eating wholegrains, nuts and seeds and fewer drinking sugary sodas
More Americans are eating a healthy diet, experts say, after noting an increase in consumption of wholegrains, nuts and seeds and fish and shellfish, combined with a decrease in consumption of sugary drinks
Over a 13-year period the percentage of people eating a poor diet fell from 56 per cent to 46 per cent, scientists estimate.
It comes as more people are adding wholegrains, nuts, seeds, fish and shellfish to their diets, and fewer people are indulging in sugary soda drinks.
A poor diet is among the leading causes of poor health, contributing in particular to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and a number of cancers.
In the US, dietary factors are estimated to account for more than 650,000 deaths each year, and 14 per cent of all disability-adjusted life-years lost.
Dr Dariush Mozaffarian from the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, in Boston, led a team of researchers to examine trends in overall diet quality from 1999 to 2012.
They focused on multiple dietary components related to major diseases using 24-hour dietary recalls in nationally representative samples that included 33,932 adults aged 20 or older.
As a control, a diet score was estimated based on the American Heart Association’s guidelines for diet.
The research team discovered many aspects of the US diet has improved over the 13-year period.
More people are consuming more wholegrains, nuts or seeds, and they noted a slight increase in fish and shellfish consumption.
A poor diet is among the leading causes of poor health, contributing in particular to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and a number of cancers
Furthermore, the researchers noticed a decreased consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks over the time period.
Other trends included increased consumption of whole fruit and a fall in consumption of 100 per cent fruit juice.
Whole fruit is a healthier option due to the fact it contains more fiber, which helps combat the negative effects of the high sugar levels.
However, researchers did not see a significant trend for total fruits and vegetables, processed meat, saturated fat or sodium.
The estimated percentage of U.S. adults with poor diets declined from 56 per cent to 46 per cent. The percentage with ideal diets increased but remained low – 0.7 per cent to 1.5 per cent.
The findings highlighted disparities in the quality of diet by race/ethnicity, education and income level.
For example, the estimated percentage of non-Hispanic white adults with a poor diet significantly declines – 54 per cent to 43 per cent.
Meanwhile, improvements were not seen for non-Hispanic black or Mexican American adults. There was little evidence of reductions in these disparities and some evidence of worsening diet by income levels.
The authors wrote: ‘These findings may inform discussions on emerging successes, areas for greater attention, and corresponding opportunities to improve the diets of individuals living in the United States.’
The findings are published in JAMA.
Written by Lizzie Parry for The Daily Mail, June 21, 2016.
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