More than half of the daily calories consumed by Americans come from ultra-processed foods, according to newly released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The findings covered the years 2021 to 2023 and found that both adults and children over the age of one get the majority of their calories from foods that have been heavily processed.
While the CDC reported that ultra-processed food consumption declined from 2017 to 2023 across all age groups, the levels remain high. On average, children get 62 percent of their calories from ultra-processed foods, while adults get 53 percent. Adults over 60 had the lowest intake, and children ages 6 to 11 had the highest at nearly 65 percent.
The leading sources of these calories include sandwiches and burgers, along with sweet baked goods, sweetened drinks, pizza, and bread.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) are currently working to create an official federal definition for ultra-processed foods. Officials note that about 70 percent of packaged products in the US fall into that category. In July, HHS, the FDA, and USDA issued a joint Request for Information to gather input for establishing a uniform definition, which they say is essential to increase transparency to consumers about the foods they consume.
“Currently, there is no single authoritative definition for ultra-processed foods for the U.S. food supply. Creating a uniform federal definition will serve as a key deliverable on the heels of the recently published Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment, which recognizes that the overconsumption of ultra-processed foods is one of the driving factors of the childhood chronic disease crisis,” the agencies said in a statement last month.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has blasted ultra-processed foods as being the drivers of the “chronic disease epidemic” in the US.
“We must act boldly to eliminate the root causes of chronic illness and improve the health of our food supply. Defining ultra-processed foods with a clear, uniform standard will empower us even more to Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy said.
