Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 10, 1 October 2013 — NATIVE HAWAIIAN NEWS FEATURES EVENTS The American diet: still more room for improvement [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

NATIVE HAWAIIAN NEWS FEATURES EVENTS The American diet: still more room for improvement

By Claire Ku'uleilani Hughes, Dr. PH„ R.D. Recent American eating practices show slight improvement, leaving mueh room for continued progress. Nutrition researchers found that Americans slowly reduced the amounts of sugars, shortening, beef, whole milk and white flour eaten ... positives ... while slowly choosing to eat more ehieken and yogurt ... that's positive, too. However, fruit and vegetable consumption have barely improved and there is no sign that the American cheese-eating craze is slowing.

A big negative shows that our daily caloric intake has increased from 2,075 calories in 1970 to 2,535 calories in 2010. Calorie increases resulted from consuming more flour, more cheese and more fats, with an extra shot of sugar. Americans earned a "B grade" for reducing their consumption of meat, poultry, seafood and especially beef, whieh is the lowest since the 1950s. This lower meat intake suggests a potential lessening of heart disease and eolon cancer risk, as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Americans earned a "C grade" in the dairy food group, as consumption grew from 8 pounds per person per year in 1970 to a current total of 23 pounds per person per year. Unfortunately, increases were in consumption of pizza, burgers, burritos, nachos, quesadillas, as well as cheese in salads, sandwiches, soups

and pizza crust ... all bad news for our arteries and waistlines. And, full-fat iee cream consumption is yielding to a low-fat, but higher sugar, yogurt phase. Consumption of breads, bagels, cereal, pasta, rice, crackers, granola bars, pizza, burritos, wraps, pretzels, paninis, cookies, scones, muffins and other grain foods continues to increase. Americans consume about 109 pounds of flour per year, not far from the year 2000 peak consumption of 1 16 pounds per year. If only Americans could switch to whole grains while cutting back on daily amounts, that would reduce calories and improve daily vitamin and mineral intakes. The average American drank 21 gallons of milk per year in 1970, and that total has dropped to 13 gallons. Whole milk intake has declined from 18 gallons to just four, whieh is success. However,

there's room for improvement, as fat-free and low-fat milk still account for only a third of the milk we drink. Unfortunately, Americans still consume mueh butterfat in the form of cheese. Overall, American sugar eonsumption has dropped from 89 pounds per person per year in 1999, whieh mirrors the decline of sugary soft drinks consumed in the last decade. Still, 78 pounds of mostly sugar and high-fructose corn syrup per person per year is too mueh, coming mostly from sugar in sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages. High sugar intakes are linked to a greater risk of developing obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Americans earned a D+ grade for its sugar consumption. Americans eamed a B + grade in the Fats & Oils group ... some improvement here. That grade results from the kinds of fats and oils used, not the

amount consumed. Total fats and oils consumed has increased, steadily, since 1970, and the number of eompanies adding to the fat totals has grown. The good news is that there is less "trans fat" in shortening and margarines, and unsaturated salad and cooking oils have replaced the former intakes of saturated shortening. It would be better for American health if the overall shortening use would decrease. Americans started eating more vegetables (not counting potatoes) in the 1980s, however, since then, no increase has occurred. And, fruit consumption (not counting juices) is unchanged since 1970. One suggestion is to replace sandwiches with salads, swap out starches for vegetables, and trade fruits for cookies, cupcakes and chips. No change in potato consumption has occurred. And, hallelujah, we are not eating more french fries. ■