American diets have gotten HEALTHIER over the last 20 years...
we're eating LESS sugar, intriguing new data shows READ MORE: Damage of high-fat diet can be passed down THREE generations By Alexa Lardieri U.S. Deputy Health Editor Dailymail.
Com Published: 22:26, 17 June 2024 | Updated: 22:42, 17 June 2024 e-mail 1 View comments Intriguing new data suggests far more Americans are eating a healthy diet than they were two decades ago — casting doubt on previous studies suggesting our daily menus are worse than ever before. Researchers from Tufts University in Massachusetts analyzed diets of 51,700 Americans 20 years and older who responded to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 1999 and 2020. They assigned 'diet scores' to people based on how closely they followed the American Heart Association's diet, which recommends a high variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, plant protein, fish and minimal sugar and alcohol .
A poor diet was defined as less than 40 percent adherence to the AHA guidelines. Over the study period, the proportion of adults with a poor diet decreased from 49 percent to 37 percent. However, the researchers stated the percentage of people with poor diets is still too high, contributing to the obesity epidemic in America.
High-fat diets are known to increase the risk of obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes While rates of the increase in body mass index appear to be slowing down, more Americans than ever are now bei.
