Junk food makes up 1/3 of calories in U.S. diet

[Guest guest]

[this is based on data from 4 years ago... when the low-carb diet fad was

not a household name, making the second sentence in the Reuters report

below a bit misleading.

 

http://story.news./news?tmpl=story & cid=594 & e=2 & u=/nm/20040602/hl_nm/hea\

lth_junk_dc

Wed Jun 2,11:02 AM ET

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Junk foods such as sugary sodas and chips make up

nearly one-third of calories in the U.S. diet, researchers said on Tuesday.

 

A study of 4,700 adults showed that, despite the increased popularity of

low-carbohydrate diets, soft drinks and pastries pile on more calories in

the daily diet than anything else.

 

" What is really alarming is the major contribution of 'empty calories' in

the American diet, " said Gladys Block, a professor of epidemiology and

public health nutrition at the University of California, Berkeley, who led

the study.

 

Writing in the June issue of the Journal of Food Chemistry and Analysis,

Bock and colleagues said that sweets and desserts, soft drinks and

alcoholic beverages account for nearly 25 percent of all calories consumed

by Americans.

 

Salty snacks and fruit-flavored drinks add another five percent.

 

" We know people are eating a lot of junk food, but to have almost one-third

of Americans' calories coming from those categories is a shocker. It's no

wonder there's an obesity epidemic in this country, " Bock said in a statement.

 

Bock used data from a U.S. government survey called the National Health and

Nutrition Examination Survey. She analyzed the answers of 4,760 adults

interviewed in 1999 and 2000.

 

They were asked to report all the foods they ate in the previous 24 hours.

 

Sodas contributed 7.1 percent of the total calories eaten. Sweets topped

the list, followed by hamburgers, pizza and potato chips.

 

" It's important to emphasize that sweets, desserts, snacks and alcohol are

contributing calories without providing vitamins and minerals, " said Block.

 

" In contrast, such healthy foods as vegetables and fruit make up only 10

percent of the caloric intake in the U.S. diet. A large proportion of

Americans are undernourished in terms of vitamins and minerals, " Block added.

 

" You can actually be obese and still be undernourished with regard to

important nutrients. We shouldn't be telling people to eat less -- we

should be telling people to eat differently. "

[Guest guest]

" You can actually be obese and still be undernourished with regard to

important nutrients. We shouldn't be telling people to eat less -- we

should be telling people to eat differently. "

 

Yep. Junk, junk, junk. At the last corporation I worked at, the girl

who sat across from me, a round little thing, with a pierced tongue

(gag!)told me she could not STAND vegetables, and ate very little

fruit. She lived on junk food and soda pop. Pimply skin so far, but

only in her early twenties. Lots of time yet for other stuff to

happen. I tried to talk to her about what would happen in her

thirties/forties/fifties/sixties on such a " diet. " Did not appear to

have much success getting through to her. Lots of people like her.

Lots and lots out here in the midwest.

 

" If it tastes good, I eat it. Who cares about reading labels? "

 

Famous last words...

 

Elliot