Happy Sunday! As I was doing some research for a project that I’m involved in, some startling facts popped out at me that I feel are important to share with everyone. The American diet has undergone serious changes in the past 5 decades and we are none the better for it according to the numbers. I’ll keep it brief but please know that I will let you draw your own conclusions and let the researchers do what they do.
- The fast-food industry rapidly expanded in the 1970’s and currently expands about 2.5 % per year
- During the 1970’s and 1980’s, Home Economics classes (basic cooking, life skills, etc.) started to be discontinued in the US school system due to budget cuts, societal changes and lack of qualified teachers
- Currently, approximately only 5 % of all US public and private schools teach any kind of home economics or life skills classes (That’s about 6,000 out of 115,171 US schools)
- A recent survey found that 56% of Americans are unsure or uneasy about reading or following a basic recipe
- Today, 60% of the American diet consists of UPFs – Ultra Processed Foods (foods that have gone under multiple processing steps and have had other substances added to them such as sugar, salt, fat, chemical additives to name a few) Examples: chips, cookies, fast foods, sodas, sugary drinks, pastries, fried foods…
- The research is leaning towards the idea that UPFs are addicting
- America eats the most processed foods in the world (Japan the least)
- Today, 74% of Americans are overweight or obese and, sadly, millennials are the most overweight with the most health issues that will possibly/probably affect them as they grow older
- According to the CDC, 50% of Americans are diabetic or pre-diabetic
- Childhood obesity is close to 20% as of 2022
The answers are simple yet complex: remove as many UPFs from the daily diet as possible, integrate whole foods in their place, tackle some simple recipes (I post a number of them here on the Food is Medicine page) and try for some meal prep to bridge you on busy days/weeks. Change is hard, I get it. So, start slowly with a couple of positive changes every 2 weeks instead of all at once. Maybe more water, less soda or juices? Bake some chicken, not fry it. Frozen fruits and veggies (without sauces) are just as nutritious as fresh fruits and veggies and probably cheaper. Move from white bread to whole grain or whole wheat.
The numbers don’t lie and this is our health and our family’s health we are talking about. You can do this!!
Reach out to me at any time at [email protected]
Be Well!!
Barbara