Ultra-processed foods remain the backbone of the American diet, making up the majority of daily calorie intake, according to new data released Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The findings come from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which tracked what Americans ate between August 2021 and August 2023. On average, 55% of all calories consumed came from highly processed foods. The number was even higher among youth ages 1–18, at nearly 62%, compared to 53% for adults.
Ultra-processed foods, a broad category that includes pre-packaged snacks, frozen meals, sweet bakery items, soda, and fast-food staples, are strongly linked to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.
The survey also revealed that income plays a clear role: higher-income households tended to consume fewer processed foods. Adults earning 3.5 times the federal poverty level or more got 50.4% of their calories from processed sources, while lower-income groups averaged 54.7%.
Sandwiches and burgers topped the list of processed calorie sources for both adults and youth, followed by sweet bakery items, sweetened drinks, and salty snacks.
The report arrives just as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is doubling down on his “Make America Healthy Again” campaign, targeting sugar and processed foods as key drivers of America’s health crisis. In a post on X, Kennedy wrote:
“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.”
Despite the dominance of processed items, the study did offer a glimmer of progress: adult consumption of ultra-processed foods has fallen slightly from 55.8% in 2013–2014 to 53% in the latest survey period.
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