Happy Fall!
Our holidays are finally over, and my personal report card looks ok. After a month of feasting (as little as possible) off diet, I went from 178 to 182….. for a gain of four pounds. But for the the rest of the country, things are not looking quite as good, because the Center for Science in the Public Interest has just released a dietary report card.
Every once in awhile somebody with some credibility says the exact same thing that we have been saying and it feels really good!So lets quickly review the results of the CSPI comparison of US food intake in 2010 vs 1970, when the rate of obesity was half what it is today, which today stands at about 30 percent of the population.
Added sugars 78 lbs per year- and down from 1970 by about 10 lbs. (so much for cutting back on sugar)
Total fat consumption up 20 lbs per year. Mostly in the form of cooking and salad oil..
Average consumption of added fat is 645 calories per day, that is on top of fat found in meats etc.
Cheese consumption(mostly fat) up 300 percent.
White Grains, burritos pizza crust, pasta bread, muffins etc, up significantly.
Total calorie intake daily, up about 500 calories.
Consumption of fruits and vegetables up slightly.
Another recommendation: Portion Distortion. Restaruants are mostly responsible for extra portion size which has led people to lose track of what normal food portions look like. Avoid restaraunts, but if you must, take half home for tommorow!
What i like about the report card is that it makes it easy for everyone to see where there is room for improvement. If folks can cut out most of the added fat we will all be a lot healthier!…. and lighter…….And what I find most interesting is that people tend to focus on actual sugar, where consumption is down. More effort needs to be focused on reducing grain and fat intake, or better yet, replacement with fruits and vegetables.
Happy fall !
veganfatloss 