Americans aren’t turning to ultra-processed foods as much as they used to, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but consumption still remains high.
“Processed foods are foods that don’t look like [how] they looked when they were first harvested,” Joan Ifland, an expert on processed food addiction, told CNBC Make It in 2023.
These processes include “powdering, liquifying, making into a syrup or a crystal, removing the fiber and grounding into a flour [and] heating to such a high temperature that the nutrients are vaporized.”
Between 2021 and 2023, an average of 53% of all calories consumed by U.S. adults ages 19 and older came from ultra-processed foods, down from 56% in 2017 and 2018, according to the CDC data.
For children 18 and younger, between 2021 and 2023, an average of about 62% of their consumed calories came from ultra-processed foods. That’s down from around 66% in 2017 and 2018.
The CDC collected the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a survey that has polled Americans about their health choices since the early 1960s.
Four ultra-processed foods were the most popular among both kids and adults:
- Sandwiches (including burgers)
- Savory snacks like chips
- Sweet bakery products
- Sweetened beverages
If you’re looking for some healthier alternatives that you can reach for, instead of a donut or a burger, there are a few that Ifland recommends.
Research shows that ultra-processed foods have been linked to serious health issues like Type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression, heart disease and higher mortality rates.
When you stop consuming processed foods, “you get better emotional control because you don’t have all of that adrenaline and cortisol in your bloodstream. You get better digestion,” Ifland said. “We see all kinds of things go into remission, and it’s because cells throughout the body are starting to work again.”
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