According to medical site A Healthy Me, the typical American diet has one major problem: too many calories. There are a number of contributing factors, including bigger portions, eating out too often, frequent snacking and eating lots of empty calories like sweets and sodas. Quick, convenient foods that are ready-to-eat or take minimal effort to prepare and cook also can pile on the calories.
Foods
According to A Healthy Me, most Americans fall into one of two groups: the Western or the prudent eating patterns. Prudent eaters are health conscious. They eat large amounts of fish, whole grains and fruits and vegetables. The Western diet is basically the opposite: red meats instead of lean ones, lots of white sugar and highly processed foods, small amount of produce. The typical American diet includes a lot of convenience foods, such as fast food, vending machine snacks and prepackaged or frozen meals. According to Eric Schlosser, author of "Fast Food Nation," the average teenager drinks about 20 ounces. of soda every day, which is three times the average for 1978. This means a considerable increase in the amount of sugar in the American diet.
Junk Food Calories
About 30 percent of the calories in the typical American diet come from junk food, according to the UC Berkeley News. Most of those come from sweets, alcoholic beverages and soft drinks. On the other hand, only 10 percent of the calories in the average American diet come from fruits and vegetables, and only 5.7 percent come from healthy protein like fish and chicken.
Eating Out
One of the major problems with eating out in America is "portion distortion," according to The Sacramento Bee. When McDonald's introduced the large-size fries, an order was 3.5 ounces., which is smaller than the medium-size fries are today. Many companies have increased portion sizes since the 1970s. Because of busy schedules and limited time to cook, Americans are eating out more often, which means they're eating larger. The typical fast-food customer is a young, single male who eats fast food an average of 20 times a month.
What's Lacking
According to A Healthy Me, the typical American diet is low in fiber and phytochemicals, plant-based substances that can protect your body against a number of health issues, including heart disease. According to The Child & Family Research Institute, many diets lack the important nutrient omega-3 fatty acids. Since this plays an important role in the development of a baby's vision, the problem is especially serious in pregnant women.
Ill Effects
According to NaturalNews, the typical American diet includes a lot of empty calories. These come from foods and drinks that are high in calories and sugars but contain little or no nutrients. This trend toward good-tasting but nutritionally poor is one of the main causes of obesity, diabetes and other preventable diseases.
References
- UC Berkeley News: Nearly One-Third of the Calories in the US Diet Come From Junk Food
- Science Daily: Typical North American Diet Is Deficient In Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- A Healthy Me: What's Wrong With the American Diet?
- Natural News: One-Third of American Diet is Junk Food and Soft Drinks
- The Sacramento Bee: It's Portion Distortion That Makes American Fat
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