Americans get 15% of their calories from added sugar – with neatly half of that total from sipping non-diet soft drinks.
Weight loss products are the No. 1 type of consumer fraud in the U.S. About 5 million Americans fall for these scams each year, some of them buying more than one item. The products include dietary supplements, nonprescription drugs, skin patches, creams, wraps, and even earrings (advertised to suppress appetite.) The marketers typically promise substantial, rapid, no-effort weight loss without dieting or exercise – guaranteed. The only thing you are guaranteed to lose is your money!
US consumers downed more than 260 million gallons of "energy drinks" in 2006, a 47% increase over the previous year – more than 3 quarts per capita.
Don't assume that small food packages or individually wrapped items are single servings. Many muffins, bottles of various drinks, and snack bags contain two or more servings, and thus you will get more calories than the label states if you eat the whole thing. A bag of nuts, for example, may list a serving as having 170 calories. But that's for 1 ounce! The whole bag may contain 2 ounces and thus 340 calories. If you plan to eat the entire package, check the number of servings per container.
If you eat breakfast bars, now sold by major cereal makers, read the labels. Many have lots of sugar and are low in fiber. They are small and thus seemingly lower in calories, but many people eat more than one! A few do have 3 or more grams of fiber per bar and some are fortified with calcium to make up for the bowl of milk. However, whole-grain cereal with low-fat or nonfat milk and some fresh fruit on top is a more nutritious option, but you can't eat it on the run!
Impulse purchases at grocery-store checkouts such as candy and snacks add 14,300 calories (4 pounds) a year to the average woman shopper's diet, 11,000 for men.
Empty calories, anyone? Americans get 15.8% of their calories from added sugars – with nearly half of that total from sipping non-diet soft drinks.
Burgers, fries, and pizza are the most frequently ordered restaurant foods in the US, where one in five restaurant meals is purchased from an automobile.
American's turkey consumption has more than doubled over the past thirty years, from 8.3 pounds per person in 1975 to 16.7 pounds in 2005.
Beverly Combs
Extension Educator, Nutrition and Wellness
Effingham Center
1209 Wenthe Dr
Effingham, IL 62401-1697
Phone: 217-347-5126 FAX: 217-347-5150 bcombs@uiuc.edu
