More than half of the calories consumed by Americans come from highly processed foods such as sugary breakfast cereals, flavored chips and soda, according to a new report.
Americans, on average, get 55% of their calories from ultra-processed foods, according to a study published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For children, that figure is even higher, at 62%. Yet, over the last decade, Americans have been consuming fewer ultra-processed foods.
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Ultra-processed foods are often calorie-dense, low in fiber and high in salt, sugar and unhealthy fats. They tend to contain little amounts of whole foods and ingredients. They range from processed meats like hot dogs and lunch meat to shelf-stable baked goods, frozen meals, sweetened beverages and snack aisle favorites like chips and cookies. They have been connected to a number of health issues, including obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and early death.
The study, which used data from August 2021 to August 2023, found the top source for ultra-processed foods are sandwiches, including burgers. Sandwiches made up 7.6% of total calories for youth and 8.6% of total categories for adults. Other common sources are sweet bakery products, savory snacks, pizza, sweetened beverages and breads, rolls and tortillas.
Families with higher incomes tend to eat less of the foods. Those with incomes far above the federal poverty level get 50.4% of their calories from ultra-processed foods. But families with incomes significantly below the poverty line consume 55.3% of their calories from such foods.
The higher costs of fresh produce and whole foods may be a factor in Americans' diets. A 2024 study from the America Society of Nutrition found that a meal with only 20% of its calories from ultra-processed foods cost more than twice as much as a comparable meal that derives 67% of its calories from ultra-processed foods.
Yet, overall, Americans are consuming fewer ultra-processed foods. American youth got 65.6% of their calories from ultra-processed food in 2017-18, the CDC study found. That fell to 61.9% in 2021-23. For adults, that figure dropped from 55.8% in 2013-14 to 53% in 2021-23.
Reducing ultra-processed foods in Americans' diets has been a high priority for the Trump administration. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has claimed the foods are a key contributor to chronic illnesses and has proposed additional funding for nutrition research and prioritizing whole foods.
Yet, some of the Trump administrations policies appear to undermine those goals. In March, the Trump administration cut grants that paid farmers to supply schools. And Trump's domestic spending law includes a 20% cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides low-income families with money for groceries. The average family that receives SNAP benefits may lose $146 per month, a report found.
Jerold Mande, a nutrition professor at Harvard's School of Public Health and a former food policymaker, told The Guardian last month that eliminating ultra-processed foods should include additional regulation of the food industry.
"Historically, Republican administrations have been reluctant to use some levers of government, particularly funding and regulation, to advance policy, but there is no way to tackle this issue successfully and effectively without funding and regulations," Mande said. "At each juncture, when one would expect or hope to see funding or regulation as a step to achieving a policy that they played out, they haven't done that."