CDC reports ultraprocessed foods comprise more than half of the US diet

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States has released the summary of a new survey confirming that ultra-processed foods make up a majority of Americans’ caloric intake.

The study, published on Thursday, involved tracking the meals and snacks of Americans from August 2021 to August 2023.

During that period, 55 percent of the calories consumed by Americans came from ultra-processed foods, according to a mean calculated by the survey authors.

That number was even higher for younger people involved in the study. Youths ranging from age one to 18 reported that nearly 62 percent of their diet was highly processed. That number dipped to 53 percent among adults over age 19.

Ultra-processed foods are common and can take a variety of forms, from pre-packaged snacks, frozen foods and bottled soda drinks.

But Thursday’s findings are likely to add fuel to a campaign under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr to reform the US diet, as part of his “Make America Healthy Again” campaign (MAHA).

Just one day before the latest CDC numbers were published, Kennedy used his social media account to once again blame high-calorie, processed foods for a variety of ailments.

“Genes don’t cause epidemics. They may provide a vulnerability, but you need an environmental toxin — and we know what it is. It’s sugar and ultra-processed foods,” Kennedy wrote on the platform X on Wednesday.

Studies have repeatedly shown links between highly processed foods and detrimental health conditions like obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Kennedy, however, has been criticised for seeking “environmental toxins” to explain conditions like autism, which researchers largely believe to result from a variety of factors, including genetic ones.

Thursday’s survey results are part of a long-running study tracking what American adults and children eat and drink on a daily basis through interviews, body measurements and laboratory testing.

Known as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the study has its limitations: Interviews rely on self-reported food consumption, for instance.

But its origins stretch back to the 1960s, and since 1999, the study has continued without interruption, according to the CDC. About 5,000 people take part each year.

In the latest edition of the survey, researchers found that income played a significant role in how much ultra-processed foods were consumed per household. High-income groups corresponded with lower mean percentages of highly processed foods consumed.

This was particularly pronounced among adults. For those whose salaries were equivalent to 3.5 times the federal poverty level or more, a mean of 50.4 percent of their diet was comprised of processed foods.

That number rose to 54.7 percent for those whose incomes were slightly above, at or below the federal poverty level.

The survey also identified the primary culinary culprits behind Americans’ consumption of highly processed foods.

Sandwiches, including burgers, were the highest source of ultra-processed foods, comprising 7.6 percent of the calories consumed by youth and 8.6 percent for adults. Sweet bakery foods were the next highest category, at 6.3 percent for minors and 5.2 percent for adults.

Sweetened beverages and savoury snacks were also prominent sources of calories.

But the study did contain some positive news, showing that the mean consumption of ultra-processed foods had decreased.