Are Americans eating healthier?

For those questions and discussions on the McDougall program that don’t seem to fit in any other forum.

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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby Risto » Wed Nov 05, 2014 10:08 pm

Spiral wrote:One woman at work who is very overweight told me (in a nice way, I suppose) that her metabolism is different than most peoples' metabolisms and that she could eat the same number of calories that I eat and she would not lose weight.

And this she knew . . . . . . . . how? Because she wanted to believe it?


Probably. Another one I hear is "oh, I don't know how much I weigh, I fluctuate so much anyway. I can go ten pounds up or down in a week." Somehow those fluctuations seem to be on the gain side pretty consistently.
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby JeffN » Fri Dec 05, 2014 2:36 pm

Not exactly focused on health but health was the primary reason people changed their diet

In health
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How Many Current and Former Vegetarians Are There? Of U.S. adults age 17 and over:

- 2% are current vegetarians/vegans
- 10% are former vegetarians/vegans
- 88% have never been vegetarian or vegan


Original report

HRC Study of Current and Former Vegetarians and Vegans
https://faunalytics.org/wp-content/uplo ... Report.pdf

From the report...

Advocates Need to Focus on Retention

This groundbreaking study provides a clarion call for advocates to think more about retention and supporting and retaining new vegetarians/vegans as they face any of a number of challenges. In fact, targeted outreach focused on lapsed vegetarians/vegans may itself prove to be fruitful. More than a third (37%) of former vegetarians/vegans say they are interested in re-adopting the diet. That equates to almost 4% of the adult population in the U.S. and, if converted, this would triple the number of actual vegetarians/vegans in the country.

Advocates should acknowledge and address the difficulties faced by former (and current) vegetarians/vegans. For instance, a large majority of former vegetarians/vegans (63%) said that they disliked that their diet made them stick out from the crowd; 41% of current vegetarians/vegans also agree with this statement. Similarly, a majority of former vegetarians/vegans (58%) did not see the diet as part of their identity.

How do we connect with and support former vegetarians/vegans and other receptive audiences? Once again, many of them say they are most likely to be motivated by health. We need to help them make positive, healthful decisions including giving specific advice, such as taking vitamin B12 supplements. We need to teach them how to live with non-vegetarians. And we need to encourage people to consider the other reasons for being vegetarian/vegan to help motivate them to sustain the positive dietary choice.

Infographic
http://www.humaneresearch.org/content/i ... iansvegans

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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby soul food » Fri Dec 05, 2014 10:00 pm

Thank you for that post Jeff N. That information helped to clarify and focus key ideas.

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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby MarionP » Fri Dec 05, 2014 11:59 pm

I've long suspected that it would be easier for people who weren't just in it for health reasons to stay vegan and, by extension, compliant to a program like Dr McDougall's. This information that Jeff just posted seems to just about confirm those suspicions.

I also agree with the data above that community can be a huge boost. I have very little contact with other vegans, but when I attend a vegan festival or other such event, I get such a wonderful out of being surrounded by people who "get" me.
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby dteresa » Sat Dec 06, 2014 1:29 am

There are more than three hundred million americans. If any of them are eating healthier my family, friends and acquaintances are not among them. (Except if you count those few who are drinking skim milk and taking the skin off the chicken.) Not qu
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby JeffN » Tue Feb 24, 2015 7:06 am

Food Habits Getting Worse Around the World

"Some poor and middle-income countries with relatively healthy diets are being targeted by Western food companies with increased advertising."

"The United States had a below-average score, faring worse than Canada or Mexico and on a par with Brazil and countries in Eastern Europe."

"Per-capita consumption of Coke tripled in Egypt over the last 20 years, and the number of McDonald’s outlets went from four in 1994 to 56 in 2013. A 2011 survey of Egyptian teenagers found that a third were overweight."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/healt ... world.html

In Health
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby wellnesscoach » Wed Feb 25, 2015 9:24 am

"Meats, dairy, sodas, oils, cut by half. Veggies and exercise doubled.Accomplish that in a nation over 10 years and you have veritable revolution in health" This is a great statement. Very true.

Also, I agree with Jim, aim high and if we get people to cut their consumption in half, thats a great thing.
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby JeffN » Tue Jun 28, 2016 8:29 am

According to this study and the accompanying editorial, yes. Not much, but this seems to indicate, a slight move in the right direction in a few areas


Original Investigation | June 21, 2016
Dietary Intake Among US Adults, 1999-2012
JAMA. 2016;315(23):2542-2553. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.7491.
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.asp ... id=2529628


Several overall dietary improvements were identified (P < .01 for trend for each). The AHA primary diet score (maximum of 50 points) improved from 19.0 to 21.2 (an improvement of 11.6%). The AHA secondary diet score (maximum of 80 points) improved from 35.1 to 38.5 (an improvement of 9.7%). Changes were attributable to increased consumption between 1999-2000 and 2011-2012 of whole grains (0.43 servings/d; 95% CI, 0.34-0.53 servings/d) and nuts or seeds (0.25 servings/d; 95% CI, 0.18-0.34 servings/d) (fish and shellfish intake also increased slightly) and to decreased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (0.49 servings/d; 95% CI, 0.28-0.70 servings/d). No significant trend was observed for other score components, including total fruits and vegetables, processed meat, saturated fat, or sodium. The estimated percentage of US adults with poor diets (defined as <40% adherence to the primary AHA diet score components) declined from 55.9% to 45.6%, whereas the percentage with intermediate diets (defined as 40% to 79.9% adherence to the primary AHA diet score components) increased from 43.5% to 52.9%. Other dietary trends included increased consumption of whole fruit (0.15 servings/d; 95% CI, 0.05-0.26 servings/d) and decreased consumption of 100% fruit juice (0.11 servings/d; 95% CI, 0.04-0.18 servings/d). Disparities in diet quality were observed by race/ethnicity, education, and income level; for example, the estimated percentage of non-Hispanic white adults with a poor diet significantly declined (53.9% to 42.8%), whereas similar improvements were not observed for non-Hispanic black or Mexican American adults. There was little evidence of reductions in these disparities and some evidence of worsening by income level.


Editorial | June 21, 2016
Changing Dietary Habits and Improving the Healthiness of Diets in the United States
JAMA. 2016;315(23):2527-2529. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.7636.
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.asp ... id=2529605

"New approaches are emerging, and it will be exciting to track their progress. For instance, a retired executive from a food store chain is addressing food distribution9 by operating a store that sells nearly out of date or unwanted foodstuffs at prices affordable to individuals with low levels of income. A food science graduate student has created a cookbook of af- fordable and tasty dishes to meet a food budget of $4/d.10 Some cities are incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables into their food bank offerings (eg, San Antonio, Texas, distributes fresh fruits and vegetables donated by local farmers and supple- ments this with produce grown on its own 5-acre farm).11

Achieving dietary changes remains a challenging task. The advice of clinicians may not provide lasting effects unless pa- tients can incorporate meaningful dietary changes into a daily sustainable pattern. How to best accomplish this task is the goal. The article by Rehm et al3 provides a current dietary re- port card to help with this task. Even though there has been some improvement from 1999 to 2012, clinicians, patients, and the food industry all need to work together to meet the chal- lenge of improving the healthiness of the US diet."


In Health
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby Dougalling » Tue Jun 28, 2016 9:52 am

I love the internet.

A lot of people are getting the message that they need to eat more vegetation through social media.
People 20 years ago thought of vegans as crazy people. Now, vegans are considered an accepted minority. We're no longer crazy, we're just a visible minority.

When people ask me why I am vegan I tell them I watched the DVDs Forks Over Knives and Cowspiracy. I tell them to watch those if they want to understand why I am vegan. It's easier than trying to listen to them refute everything I say in response to their questions.

On the other hand, have you watched the food network lately. It used to be that people would have beef, or poultry, or pork in a meal. Nowadays recipes include beef AND poultry AND pork AND dairy AND eggs all in one meal. It really is devastating to watch food shows on TV. I now watch whole food plant based and vegan clips on youtube and have banished the food network from my life.
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby JeffN » Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:07 pm

Maybe not

And if so, being negated by other poor lifestyle habits

In Health
Jeff

Twenty‐Five Year Secular Trends in Lipids and Modifiable Risk Factors in a Population‐Based Biracial Cohort: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study, 1985–2011
Pamela J. Schreiner, David R. Jacobs, Jr, Nathan D. Wong, and Catarina I. Kiefe
J Am Heart Assoc. 2016;5:e003384. Originally published July 5, 2016. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.116.003384 OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE
http://jaha.ahajournals.org/content/5/7/e003384.full
http://jaha.ahajournals.org/content/5/7 ... l.pdf+html


Abstract

Background
Cross‐sectional analyses suggest that total and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐c) trends that had been declining are now reversing. We examined longitudinal data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study to examine secular trends in total cholesterol, LDL‐c, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐c), and triglycerides over 25 years. We also assessed whether modifiable lifestyle factors (body mass index, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking, and lipid‐lowering medications) are associated with these trends.

Methods and Results
CARDIA recruited 5115 black and white men and women ages 18 to 30 years from 4 US communities in 1985–1986, and re‐examined them 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years later. Secular trends, modeled as age‐matched time trends, were estimated using repeated‐measures regression stratified on race and sex. Total cholesterol and LDL‐c initially decreased ≈5 to 8 mg/dL between visits before plateauing and moving toward adverse trends in all groups, except black women, by year 25. HDL‐c showed an upward secular trend of 1 to 3 mg/dL between visits starting at year 15 in all groups; triglyceride trends were largely flat. Obesity and use of lipid‐lowering medications, which both increased over follow‐up, had strong independent, but opposite, associations with lipid trends over time. In aggregate, associations of modifiable lifestyle factors counterbalanced one another, minimally influencing secular trends.

Conclusions
Over 25 years, initially favorable trends in total cholesterol and LDL‐c have leveled off and may be reversing, persisting after control for modifiable risk factors. Factors such as dietary changes over 25 years and poor adherence to medications are candidates for additional investigation.
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby JeffN » Wed Mar 15, 2017 10:23 am

Americans Are Eating More Butter Than Ever
by Leslie Patton
March 14, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... a-comeback
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby JeffN » Sun Jun 24, 2018 5:38 am

The CDC’s 2018 State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables is out.

https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/data-stat ... ables.html

“Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help protect against a number of serious and costly chronic diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and obesity. Despite the health benefits, only one in ten Americans is consuming enough fruits and vegetables in their daily diet.”




Only 1 in 10 Adults Get Enough Fruits or Vegetables
Men, younger adults, and people living in poverty get the fewest

https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/divis ... ables.html

Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help reduce the risk of many leading causes of illness and death, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and obesity. Despite these positive health benefits, few adults meet the recommendations

In a recent MMWR article, CDC researchers analyzed data from the 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and found that the number of adults eating enough fruits and vegetables in 2015 remained very low. Only, 9 percent of adults met the intake recommendations for vegetables and 12 percent of adults met the recommendations for fruit. Results showed that consumption was lower among men, young adults, and adults living in poverty.

The study also found variations by state. For example, adults meeting fruit or vegetable recommendations ranged from 6 percent in West Virginia to 16 percent in Washington DC.

Overall there were no significant differences between different race/ethnicity groups for meeting the vegetable recommendations. However, in ten states a significantly higher percentage of Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks met recommendations for fruit intake than did non-Hispanic whites.

Adults Meeting Recommendations, 2015
Fruits - 12.2%
Vegetables - 9.3%
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby DanTheYogi » Sun Jun 24, 2018 4:56 pm

JeffN wrote:The CDC’s 2018 State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables is out.

https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/data-stat ... ables.html

“Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help protect against a number of serious and costly chronic diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and obesity. Despite the health benefits, only one in ten Americans is consuming enough fruits and vegetables in their daily diet.”




Only 1 in 10 Adults Get Enough Fruits or Vegetables
Men, younger adults, and people living in poverty get the fewest

https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/divis ... ables.html

Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help reduce the risk of many leading causes of illness and death, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and obesity. Despite these positive health benefits, few adults meet the recommendations

In a recent MMWR article, CDC researchers analyzed data from the 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and found that the number of adults eating enough fruits and vegetables in 2015 remained very low. Only, 9 percent of adults met the intake recommendations for vegetables and 12 percent of adults met the recommendations for fruit. Results showed that consumption was lower among men, young adults, and adults living in poverty.

The study also found variations by state. For example, adults meeting fruit or vegetable recommendations ranged from 6 percent in West Virginia to 16 percent in Washington DC.

Overall there were no significant differences between different race/ethnicity groups for meeting the vegetable recommendations. However, in ten states a significantly higher percentage of Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks met recommendations for fruit intake than did non-Hispanic whites.

Adults Meeting Recommendations, 2015
Fruits - 12.2%
Vegetables - 9.3%



Do they consider things like french fries, ketchup, juice, etc., fruits and veggies when collecting these numbers?
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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby JeffN » Sun Jun 24, 2018 5:05 pm

DanTheYogi wrote:Do they consider things like french fries, ketchup, juice, etc., fruits and veggies when collecting these numbers?


https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/ ... mm6645a1_w

“The findings in this report are subject to at least six limitations. First, estimates did not include non-100% fruit juice or fried potatoes because the BRFSS questionnaire instructs respondents to exclude them. These foods were excluded from BRFSS because federal dietary guidelines recommend limiting foods and beverages with added sugars and solid fats such as these (1); estimates therefore represent intake from healthier sources. Including these additional sources of fruits and vegetables results in 4%–6% higher estimates for fruit intake and 30%–44% higher estimates for vegetable intake (4).”

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Re: Are Americans eating healthier?

Postby geo » Sun Jun 24, 2018 9:27 pm

<rant>

Sadly, its been almost a decade since this thead was started and we seem to be no better or more realistically worse than we were back then. Yet another decade lost. Chronic diseases rampant and continueing to increase. Everywhere you hear and see "plant-based" being talked about. We have another new generation of Doctors that undestand whats needed and yes we have an even bigger new set of Doctors that believe in the old Atkins mantra. One step forward, 2 steps back. And we are dieing sooner than before.

Evey year we express hope that things are changing and all we really see is more people getting sick, despite medicine continueing with their new "breakthroughs" in treatments and medicines. And yet they still can't see the forest because they only want to climb the highest tree. And now we have the retirement of the greatest single voice in fighting this scruge we call the SAD.

Sorry, but I'm no longer hopefull that things will change. People are far to addicted to their manufactured foods, their hyper-palatable c.r.a.p. and the sodium, fat and sugar that make it so. Food manufacturers don't give a damn because its about the money and no one is buying truly healthy WFPB. The moneys not there and I doubt it ever will be. And those that claim they know what is truly healthy are still just pushing crap.

Nope, I dont see things changing anymore. We are fighting a losing battle because those who truly care AND understand proper human nutrition are rare indeed and the wannabe's are quickly crowding them out. The cadre of McDougallers that understand and embrace the science is small and just seems to get smaller. We know the truth, and once we achieve that truth we no longer need to be here because new adventures in life open up. We "get a life" as it were. And no matter how many of us succeed in this woe...no one else cares.

They see our health and they just don't care. They have no interest in what they see as giving up what makes their lives enjoyable. It is unthinkable. They don't see what they can gain by just making a few changes in what they eat. Its too hard (when it really isn't). Lifes not worth living without (pick your favorite food). Food and my social life IS the only thing important and I just can't do that on this program. I'd rather be sick and die early in horible agony, than give up my food. The mantra of the deniers are many and just seem to increase with each passing year.

And in many cases we give up on them as well. Just take it slow, make a little change here and there, take baby steps, etc... We know deep down these things don't really work for most and never will. We struggle to figure out what will make people understand and change, but thats really just not going to happen. When people deny their sickness and where it comes from they will never change. Hell, even those of us that have succeeded took decades of convincing in most cases. And we are in the vast minority. Many of us that have succeeded can't even get our own closest loved ones to understand, let alone change.

So if I feel this way, why am I here? I don't know anymore. The science doesn't seem to convince anyone anymore. The program is just too hard... when all it amounts to is to eat starches, veggies and fruit, drink water and exercise a little. We make up all these rules about what to do, but fail to do whats really important. We worry about the minutia to the point of paralysis. We cant follow the program until we get every last piece of proper cookware/machine/gadget/special ingredient/superfood/etc... Excuses abound and everyday we just make more excuses for why we fail or just can't do it.

Starches, veggies, fruits, water, exercise...5 simple words. Nothing else needed to know. If its not one of those things, don't eat it, drink it, or do it. Whatever you stick in your mouth, is it one of those? If not then don't put it in your mouth. What exercise to do? It don't matter, just get
off your ass and move...30 mins a day. End of story. And yet even these most simple 5 words are seemingly impossible for people to follow or understand. They aren't really, but we make endless excuses that make them seem as if they are. Even to the point of letting yourself get sick and die early. We are truly curious creatures but I don't believe we are as intelligent as we think.

Starches, veggies, fruits, water, exercise... Why is this so hard to understand or believe or even accomplish?

</rant>
geo

My 1 year Journal McDougalling and results Testimonial
My March 2013 Star McDougaller Story
Some Random Thoughts on Successful McDougalling
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