Mental Health

Americans getting Fewer Calories from Fast Food

By Affirunisa Kankudti | Update Date: Feb 21, 2013 08:31 AM EST

An American gets 11.6 percent of his or her total daily calorie intake from fast food, according to latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that between 2007 and 2010, adults in the U.S. got a little over 11 percent of their daily calories from fast food, which is a little lower than the years between 2005 and 2006 when fast food accounted for 12.8 percent of daily calories.

Although socioeconomic status wasn't associated with fast food consumption, younger adults' calorie intake from fast food decreased as their income increased.

According to data from another survey called National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2010, calorie intake in children has declined over the years.

"The percent of calories from fast food has gone down a significant amount," said the study's lead author, Cheryl Fryar, a health statistician with the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to USA Today.

Currently a third of all adults, 37.5 percent of the adult population, in the U.S. are obese. Obesity is associated with many health complications including high blood pressure, stroke, type-2 diabetes and certain types of cancers.

"To reverse the current prevalence of obesity, these numbers have to be a lot bigger. But they are trending in the right direction, and that's good news," said Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, reports The new York Times. 

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