Sounds crazy, I know, especially when you consider all the awareness efforts about UPFs. But a new UPF threshold has been crossed. More than 50 percent of Calories ROUTINELY consumed by Amer-icans now come from UPFs…
The numbers come from a reliable source: no less an authority than the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Alas… The latest report on Calorie sources across the US diet shows several ‘disappointing’ results:
There has been a slight improvement since the last comprehensive report a few years back. That is, a few percent less Calories in both adults’ and children’s US daily diets were coming from UPDs (ultra-processed foods) once all the official numbers were in, by the end of of 2023.
From August 2021 to August 2023, about 53 percent of the calories consumed by adults in the US came from ultraprocessed foods, according to the CDC report. The share was even higher among children, who got about 6 percent of their diet from ultraprocessed foods on average. That’s a decrease from 2017-2018, when ultraprocessed foods comprised 56 processed of the adult diet and nearly 66 percent among children.
Good news. But not great: No ‘material’ overall change.
Can’t escape them…
Supporting this disappointing news, companion numbers indicate that at least 70 percent of foods now on American supermarket shelves are, or contain UPFs.
So, “It’s unrealistic to expect folks not eat any ultraprocessed foods at all,” Stoiber said, referencing celebrations that call for cake and ice cream, and the general emotional value in enjoying food. “But as much as we can shift our diet to whole foods, that’s going to be [that much]better for us.”
Stoiber, an independent senior scientist with Environmental Working Group, a health advocacy organization, explains:
“People also eat what is available to them, experts say. Up to 70 per cent of the US food supply is made up of ultraprocessed foods, and they’re often cheaper than making a dish from scratch,” Stoiber laments.
Vicious circle…
Ultraprocessed foods are typically high in Calories, added sugar, sodium and saturated fat, and low in fiber. They have been linked to weight gain and obesity and the development of chronic conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and depression. Such foods may even shorten life, the CDC insists.
In fact, “There are no health benefits [whatsoever] associated with eating ultraprocessed foods,” Stoiber points out.
My take
So why do so many folks continue to eat so much UPF?
Convenience, cost and attractive ‘presentation’.
And you simply can’t get away from them!
Bottom line…
It’s up to each of us, as individuals and as diet leaders for our families, to stand up and resist the UPF ‘Call of the Wild’…
Because it appears nobody else is going to do so for us. And that’s the REAL issue the world is facing…
~ Maggie J.