The government's new dietary guidelines came out on Thursday, and most Americans are far from meeting the recommendations.
Many of us know we don't eat enough fruits and vegetables, and probably eat too much sugar. We try to make little improvements, but it's tough to get it right all the time.
When you look at how the country is doing as a whole, it becomes clear just how bad things are.
This chart, released along with the new guidelines from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday, shows where most Americans fall now compared to how they should be eating.
The new recommendations for each food group are in the middle of the chart. The bars represent the percent of Americans.
If the bar is orange, that represents the percent of Americans who either aren't eating enough of the good stuff (like vegetables), or are eating too much of the bad stuff (like added sugars).
Here's how we're doing:
Not great, right? We definitely aren't eating enough vegetables, fruits, or dairy. And the vast majority of Americans are eating too much sugar, saturated fats, and sodium.
Interestingly, we also aren't eating enough oils. The report explains this is because the majority of Americans get most of their fat from solid fats, like butter, rather than vegetable oil, for example. (The idea that vegetable oil is healthier than butter has been contested by many nutrition scientists, but most agree on the value of "healthy fats" like olive oil.) Our love of butter is part of why our diets are so high in saturated fats. (One way to remember what fats are saturated — they're solid at room temperature, and those words both start with "s.")
Most people are eating enough protein and grains, though, which makes sense given the American admiration of meat and bread. Some studies, in fact, have suggested that many of us may actually be eating too much protein, and recent research has many people cutting carbs — though usually it's not whole grains, which the USDA emphasizes as healthy, that people are worried about.
For an average American following a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, the new recommendations suggest eating the following every day: 2.5 cups of vegetables, 2 cups of fruits, 6 oz. of grains, 3 cups of dairy, 5.5 oz. of protein, and 1.8 Tbsp. of oils. Appropriate portions will vary considerably among individuals depending on weight, age, health goals, and physical activity.
And following that diet, you should limit sugar and saturated fats to only 200 calories each, and only consume 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day.
You can find out how many calories you should be eating based on your sex, age and activity level here, then see what that equates to in food here.
