At this point, we’ve established that, at its core, an individual’s weight is defined by the calories consumed, less the calories burned. Accepting this as fact, I ran across an interesting document, published by the USDA. It’s called the Agriculture Fact Book, 2001-2002. Buried within this document is a chapter titled “Profiling Food Consumption in America.” Here are some interesting tidbits.
- In 2000, the total food produced by the U.S. totaled 3800 calories per person. This is compared to 3200 calories in 1957.
- 1,100 calories (per person) was lost in the form of spoilage, waste, and other waste
- This means that the average American consumed 2700 calories. This is a 24.5% increase over 1970.
What must the natural conclusion from this data be? More and more Americans are becoming overweight – to the tune of 62% of adults in the year 2000. So what has driven the change? USDA food intake surveys show that food consumption in America has changed dramatically over the last 50-years. Take eating at restaurants for example. In 1978, 18% of the food consumed in America was “take out.” In 1996, that rose to 32%. Other lifestyle factors that may be contributors to this trend include: reduced activity levels, higher stress levels, less sleep… the list goes on.
In what other ways has food consumption in America changed?
Photo Credit VirtualErn
A few other facts about how food consumption in America has changed in the last 50 years. These are per person.
- The amount of caloric sweeteners (i.e. sugar) has increased 39% (52 teaspoons per day)
- Our consumption of meats has risen from 57 pounds per year to 195 pounds per year.
- Americans drink less beverage milk, which has been supplanted by sodas, fruit drinks, and flavored teas.
- We consumed 67% more fats and oils (74.5 pounds per year)
- The average American now meets or exceeds the recommended grain intake. Unfortunately the majority of what is consumed is highly refined.
- On the plus side – our consumption of fruits and vegetables is up 20% over a 30-year period.
So what is the take-away about food consumption in America?
I mentioned earlier that when I started running, I was doing so on my lunch hour, and that the majority of my training occurred then. What I failed to mention was that the majority of the time, I was going out to lunch with “the gang” from work. My reasoning for exercising at lunch was that 1) it would not affect my time with family, and 2) I would save a little money by packing a lunch rather than eating out.
It is apparent to me now that at least a portion of my weight loss in the early training was that I simply wasn’t eating in restaurants as frequently. What I’ve come to realize is that it is extremely difficult to eat at a restaurant and consume less than 1,000-calories. The USDA has a great website for determining the calorie content, as well as other nutritional information about many of the foods we consume. It is search-driven, which makes it easy. You should check it out.
