Health In Motion

June 1, 2007

Junk Food High In US Diets

Filed under: Addictions, Health - General, Junk Foods, Obesity — Jorg Mardian RHN, CPT @ 6:12 pm

obesity.jpgA study in the Journal of Food Chemistry and Analysis, examined the eating habits of Americans and found that junk food accounts for 30 percent of the food consumed. Sugary snacks and sodas top the list, which gives us a pretty good indication of why the US obesity epidemic, and conversely their health care system, is spiralling out of control.

An estimated 97 million adults in the United States, or 55% of the population, are overweight or obese! Increases are seen in both sexes and all socio-economic classes similarly also in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Total (food) energy intake has increased dramatically over the past 20 years, because of shifts away from wholesome meals to snacks and away-from-home foods. Those who feel guilty and add a few fruits and vegetables to an otherwise bad diet, are in for a shock – it doesn’t work. The whole package is important. It almost works like a point system. The more points you accumulate, the less you’re subject to developing a debilitating disease. Of course this has been known for some time, but official recommendations are still off the mark.

Sweets and desserts, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages make up a big part of all calories consumed by Americans. These are the types of food which contribute calories without providing vitamins and minerals. In contrast, vegetables and fruit make up only 10 percent of the caloric intake in the U.S. diet. People consistently try to diet and eat less, when they should be told to eat differently.

Here are some obesity complications you may want to think about:

* Type 2 diabetes

* gallbladder disease

* hypertension

* coronary artery disease

* knee osteoarthritis

* gout

* colon cancer

* low back pain

* lack of confidence

* depression

* and many more….

7 Comments »

  1. Thank you for this site i had a report to do and this site really helped me alot
    – B Hayes

    Comment by Brittany Hayes — October 2, 2007 @ 3:38 pm

  2. Good article. Hope more will read it.

    Comment by Jane S. — February 13, 2008 @ 7:44 pm

  3. Good Information!

    Comment by jm — May 14, 2008 @ 7:57 pm

  4. Wow! I’ll definitely try to do better now.

    Comment by John Snow — May 18, 2008 @ 3:52 pm

  5. When you have entire food ailes devoted to snacks it’s very hard to keep it from jumping into your shopping carts. We are a nation of consumers and food and drink marketers are alway finding ways to entice you to buy their products. I think if we knew how many calories and grams of fat with pictures were in all the foods we eat then perhaps we might make better decisions on what we consume.

    Comment by Richard Morden — May 28, 2008 @ 2:21 am

  6. WOW !
    FIFTY FIVE PERCENT ARE OBESE INDIVIDUALS !

    Comment by di ane — May 29, 2008 @ 3:11 am

  7. Wait… So excessive consumption of unhealthy foods may in fact be bad for your health!? This.. this is preposterous! I simply must see the data results from these studies.

    Comment by Simply Shocked — July 29, 2008 @ 8:29 am


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