Ultra-processed foods dominate US diets, CDC warns

ATLANTA, Georgia: More than half of the calories Americans consume now come from ultra-processed foods — items high in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats — according to a newly released report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

While past studies have long highlighted America’s reliance on these foods, this is the first time federal dietary data has officially confirmed the extent of their dominance.

Using data collected from August 2021 to August 2023, the CDC found that about 55 percent of the total calories consumed by people aged one and older came from ultra-processed foods. The proportion was even higher among children and teens, with nearly 62 percent of their daily caloric intake coming from such items. Among adults, that number stood at about 53 percent.

Common sources of these highly processed foods include burgers and sandwiches, sweet baked goods, salty snacks, pizza, and sugar-sweetened beverages. Younger children tended to consume slightly fewer calories from these sources than older kids, and adults over 60 ate fewer ultra-processed foods than younger adults. The report also found a disparity based on income, with low-income adults consuming more ultra-processed foods than wealthier individuals.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has voiced growing concern over the health risks associated with these foods, blaming them for contributing to America’s rising chronic disease burden. “We are poisoning ourselves,” he said in a recent interview, “and it’s coming principally from these ultra-processed foods.”

Still, there may be a small silver lining. According to the CDC’s co-author Anne Williams, consumption of ultra-processed foods appears to have declined slightly over the past decade. For example, adult intake fell from 56 percent in 2013–2014, while kids’ intake dropped from nearly 66 percent in 2017–18. While it’s unclear what’s driving the change, some experts believe increased awareness is playing a role. “People are trying, at least in some groups, to cut back on these foods,” said Andrea Deierlein, a nutrition expert at NYU.

Ultra-processed foods have been linked in numerous studies to health issues like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, but researchers have struggled to definitively prove a causal relationship. However, a recent study in Nature found that people lost twice as much weight on diets rich in minimally processed foods like pasta, fruits, vegetables, and fresh chicken — even when calorie counts and nutrients were the same as diets made up of “healthy” ultra-processed items like frozen meals and protein bars.

The CDC used the Nova classification system, which defines ultra-processed foods as “hyperpalatable, energy-dense, low in fiber and whole foods, and high in salt, sugars, and unhealthy fats.” U.S. health agencies are now working on developing a more precise national definition.

In the meantime, experts recommend reading labels carefully and opting for simple, whole ingredients — like plain oats instead of flavored instant oatmeal — to reduce reliance on ultra-processed foods.