Introduction

Potato chips or carrot sticks? White or whole wheat bread? Soda or fruit juice, or maybe both? Most people know what kinds of foods they "should" eat regularly, but what kinds of foods do they actually choose when it's time to eat? A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition sheds some light on what Americans are eating and how these food choices affect their health.

A look at American eating habits

More than 15,000 adults submitted information on their health and usual dietary intake as part of the third US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Researchers classified the volunteers according to their daily intake of high-sugar, high-fat "nutrient poor" foods like cookies, chips, soda, butter, margarine, and gravy. They then determined if a steady diet of these foods influenced the participants' intake of calories, fat, vitamins, and minerals.

The researchers found that people who ate more high-fat, high-sugar foods consumed more total calories and more calories from fat when compared with others in the study. They were also less likely to consume foods from the five major food groups--dairy, fruits, vegetables, grain foods, and protein foods. As a result, they were less able to meet their bodies' needs for vitamins A, B6, B12, and C, folate, calcium, and iron. They also had lower blood levels of both "good" HDL cholesterol and antioxidants, plant substances thought to protect against cancer and heart disease.

Results

The results of this study point to American's love of "junk food" like chips and soda as a potential contributor to the nation's escalating rate of obesity. The authors report that the people who regularly chose high-sugar or high-fat foods consumed an average 177 calories more than others in the study. That may not sound like much, but an extra 177 calories per day (about the amount in one small bag of potato chips) can mean an 18 pound weight gain in one year.

As nutritionists point out, there are no "good foods" and "bad foods;" all foods can be part of a healthful diet. A problem occurs when snack foods crowd other foods out of daily meals--people "fill up" on chips and soda, for instance, and then skip dinner. All foods can fit--in moderation and within the context of a diet that includes low-fat dairy products, whole grain foods, fruits, vegetables, beans, and lean meats.

Source

Consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods by adult Americans: nutritional and health implications.
A. Kant, The third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2000, vol. 72, pp. 929--936

Links

• A
  Prospective Study of Diet Quality and Mortality in Women
• Tufts
  University's Nutrition Navigator