Americans Are Finally Eating Less - From the New York Times

Americans Are Finally Eating LessAfter decades of worsening diets and sharp increases in obesity, Americans' eating habits have begun changing for the better.Calories consumed daily by the typical American adult, which peaked around 2003, are in the midst of their first sustained decline since federal statistics began to track the subject, more than 40 years ago. The number of calories that the average American child takes in daily has fallen even more — by at least 9 percent.The declines cut across most major demographic groups — including higher- and lower-income families, and blacks and whites — though they vary somewhat by group.In the most striking shift, the amount of full-calorie soda drunk by the average American has dropped 25 percent since the late 1990s.As calorie consumption has declined, obesity rates appear to have stopped risingfor adults and school-aged children and have come down for the youngest children, suggesting the calorie reductions are making a difference.The reversal appears to stem from people's growing realization that they were harming their health by eating and drinking too much. The awareness began to build in the late 1990s, thanks to a burst of scientific research about the costs of obesity, and to public health campaigns in recent years.The encouraging data does not mean an end to the obesity epidemic: More than a third of American adults are still considered obese, putting them at increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. A...
Source: Dr Portnay - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: blogs