The good news? American diets have improved over the past two decades. However, food insecurity remains a persistent issue during the same period.
According to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers from Tufts University analyzed American diet quality from 1999 to 2020. They found that the proportion of adults with poor dietary quality decreased from 48.8% to 37.4% during that time, but disparities in diet quality continue to hinder efforts to achieve health equity.
“While there has been some improvement in American diets in the last two decades, these improvements have not reached everyone, and many Americans are still eating poorly,” stated Dariush Mozaffarian, the study’s senior author. “Our research underscores the need to address the barriers that prevent many Americans from accessing and consuming nutritious food.”
The study included data from 51,703 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 1999 and 2020. Participants reported their food and beverage intake from the previous day, which was then compared to the American Heart Association’s diet score for assessing diet quality.
Positive trends identified in the study included an increase in the proportion of adults with intermediate and ideal diet quality, with the latter remaining low at 1.58% in 2020. The study also noted changes in the consumption of certain food categories.
Improvements in diet quality were more significant among younger adults, women, Hispanic individuals, and those with higher socioeconomic status, while progress was slower among older adults, men, Black individuals, and those with lower education and income levels.
Mozaffarian emphasized the importance of addressing nutrition security and social determinants of health to combat the rising rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes in the country.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, more than 1 million Americans die from diet-related diseases annually. These diseases disproportionately affect minority groups, with higher rates of conditions like high blood pressure among non-Hispanic Black adults.
Another study from Tufts University estimated that poor diet and food insecurity contribute to $1.1 trillion in healthcare spending and lost productivity each year.
