We Eat Too Much of What’s Bad for Us

Obesity, which is directly linked to diet and a sedentary lifestyle, markedly increases a person’s risk of heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, and some cancers.

 

Rates of obesity have doubled in children and adults and tripled in teenagers since the late 1970s, which is not surprising, since—thanks to ubiquitous high-calorie foods—the average adult eats 100 to 500 calories more per day and—thanks to modern conveniences—exercises less.3 The additional calories have come mainly from the least healthy foods: white flour, added fats and oils, and refined sugars.

 

Moreover, Americans are eating more flesh foods—beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and seafood. In 2003, for instance, Americans ate more of each of those foods than they did a half-century earlier Fortunately, the biggest increase was for poultry, which is not directly linked to chronic disease. However, a lot of that chicken—and fish too—is not baked or grilled, but deep fried in partially hydrogenated oil. That oil contains trans fat, one of the most potent causes of heart disease.

 

Meanwhile, Americans cut their consumption of beef by 33 percent since 1976; that is likely due both to health concerns and lower chicken prices.

 

Our inconsistent efforts to eat healthy diets extend to non-meat foods as well. Although we are eating one-third fewer eggs—the yolks of which are our biggest source of cholesterol and thus contribute to heart disease—than we did in 1953, we are eating four times as much cheese—which is high in saturated fat and promotes heart disease.

 

 

Looking at other non-animal-derived portions of our diet, we are consuming massive amounts of nutritionally poor plant-based foods, notably:

• refined grains (white bread, white pasta, and white rice), which are stripped of much of their nutrients and dietary fiber; 
• soft drinks and other foods high in refined sugars (including highfructose corn syrup), which replace more healthful foods and promote obesity; and 
• baked goods and fried foods made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and palm, palm kernel, and coconut oils, which promote heart disease.

Finally, there’s salt. The large amounts of salt in most packaged and restaurant foods and processed meats increase blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.