What’s wrong with the American diet? More than half our calories come from ‘ultra-processed’ foods

Karen KaplanContact Reporter

Researchers who have analyzed America’s eating habits say they can sum up what’s wrong with our diet in just two words: ultra-processed foods.

These foods — a group that includes frozen pizzas, breakfast cereals and soda — make up 58% of all calories Americans consume in a typical day. Not only that, they delivered 90% of the added sugars that Americans ate and drank, according to a studypublished Wednesday in the medical journal BMJ Open.

Government health experts advise Americans to get no more than 10% of their total calories in the form of added sugars. But most us aren’t listening. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said that 71% of American adultsexceeded that 10% goal, and that added sugars accounted for 15% of all the calories they consumed.

All of that added sugar makes people more likely to be overweight or obese. That, in turn, sets them up for serious health problems like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer (not to mention lots of cavities).

https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-ultra-processed-foods-diet-20160309-story.html