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<\/p>\n Email Link<\/p>\n \n Most of the American diet is comprised of calories from ultraprocessed foods, which have been linked to a myriad of poor health outcomes and are a key target in US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s agenda to Make America Health Again.\n <\/p>\n \n A new report<\/a> published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that there has been some improvement in recent years, but ultraprocessed foods still account for more than half of the calories consumed by both children and adults in the United States.\n <\/p>\n \n From August 2021 to August 2023, about 53% of the calories consumed by adults in the US came from ultraprocessed foods, according to the CDC report. The share was even higher among children, who got about 62% of their diet from ultraprocessed foods on average. That\u2019s a decrease from 2017-2018 when ultraprocessed foods comprised 56% of the adult diet and nearly 66% among children.\n <\/p>\n \n Ultraprocessed foods are typically high in calories, added sugar, sodium and saturated fat and low in fiber. They have been linked to weight gain and obesity<\/a> and the development of chronic conditions including cancer<\/a>, cardiovascular disease<\/a>, type 2 diabetes<\/a> and depression<\/a>. Such foods may even shorten life<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThere are no health benefits associated with eating ultraprocessed foods,\u201d said Dr. Tasha Stoiber, a senior scientist with Environmental Working Group, a health advocacy organization. She did not review the new CDC report.\n <\/p>\n \n Calories from ultraprocessed foods can add up quickly because they tend to be extra tasty and dense, with a large amount of calories in small amount of food, experts say.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s unrealistic to not eat any ultraprocessed foods,\u201d Stoiber said, referencing celebrations that call for cake and ice cream and the general value in enjoying food. \u201cBut as much as we can shift our diet to whole foods, that\u2019s going to be better for us.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n People also eat what is available to them, experts say. Up to 70% of the US food supply<\/a> is made up of ultraprocessed foods, and they\u2019re often cheaper<\/a> than making a dish from scratch.\n <\/p>\n \n The new CDC report found that diets of the wealthiest adults had a significantly smaller share of calories from ultraprocessed foods than those with lower family incomes. But there was not as much variation among children based on family income.\n <\/p>\n \n Dr. Jamie Chriqui, a senior associate dean at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health who has spent decades researching nutrition policy, says that many low-income food assistance programs are centered around children \u2013 and there is precedent for restricting ultraprocessed foods in these social programs.\n <\/p>\n \n The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP \u2013 previously known as food stamps \u2013 is an exception, she said. SNAP is geared more toward the whole family, and there has historically been little restriction on how those benefits are used.\n <\/p>\n \n With SNAP, \u201cthere is no incentive to purchase one thing over another,\u201d said Chriqui, who did not review the new CDC report.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIf I\u2019m a family and I\u2019m using my SNAP dollar, I\u2019m going to purchase whatever I can to extend the money as far as I can,\u201d she said. \u201cSo if they are in a community where healthier options are more expensive than the ultraprocessed foods, they\u2019re probably going to default to the ultraprocessed foods.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Kennedy has encouraged states to submit waivers<\/a> that would restrict certain foods from SNAP benefits, with at least a dozen states filing for changes so far this year.\n <\/p>\n \n Still, ultraprocessed foods have comprised a significantly larger share of the diets of children than adults in the US for at least the past decade, according to the new CDC report.\n <\/p>\n \n In May, a MAHA report on children\u2019s health identified ultraprocessed foods as a key driver of the \u201cchronic disease epidemic in children.\u201d The report was rife with errors<\/a>, including citations to some studies that didn\u2019t exist, but experts agree that children are especially vulnerable to the negative effects of ultraprocessed foods.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWhen you\u2019re young, that is when you are forming food habits which you\u2019re likely to have throughout the rest of your life. So it\u2019s a critical time of development that sets you up for all the rest of your life stages,\u201d Stoiber said. \u201cIf that\u2019s what you\u2019re used to, you may continue to eat those foods\u2026leading to not just the short-term exposure, but a longer-term exposure.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Children are also often targeted with advertising for these foods, she said.\n <\/p>\n \n Burgers and other sandwiches were found to be the largest contributors of calories from ultraprocessed foods for both kids and adults, followed by sweet bakery products. Together, these two foods accounted for nearly one in every seven calories consumed in the average American diet, according to the CDC report.\n <\/p>\n \n The report also found savory snacks and sweetened beverages to be among the top calorie contributors, along with pizza for children.\n <\/p>\n \n For the new CDC report, dietary habits were based on responses to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, with foods assessed according to NOVA<\/a>, a recognized system of categorizing foods by their level of processing.\n <\/p>\n
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