Americans are eating more poultry, less red meat
A new analysis published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests that U.S. adults eat as much processed meat and as little fish as they did 18 years ago, despite public health guidelines to the contrary.
A new analysis published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests that U.S. adults eat as much processed meat and as little fish as they did 18 years ago, despite public health guidelines to the contrary. In addition, one quarter of U.S. adults are still eating more unprocessed red meat than the recommended level, and less than 15% meet the guidelines for fish/shellfish consumption. However, Americans are eating less beef and more chicken than they did 18 years ago, and in fact, for the first time, consumption of poultry exceeds that of unprocessed red meat.
“Despite strong evidence linking processed meat with cancer risk, consumption of processed meat among U.S. adults didn’t change over the study period (1999–2016),” said lead investigator Fang Fang Zhang, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University. “While factors other than health (e.g., social, cultural, and economic) can influence Americans’ food choices, the lack of widespread awareness of health risks associated with processed meat may have contributed to the lack of consumption change in the past 18 years. Our findings support further actions to increase the public awareness of the health risks associated with high processed meat consumption in the United States.”
The study used a nationally representative sample comprised of dietary data from nearly 44,000 U.S. adults (aged 20 and older) who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) through 2016. The investigators assessed trends in consumption of processed meat, unprocessed red meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish over the past 18 years and their purchase locations. In addition to the overall trends noted above using full NHANES data, the research team also compared NHANES data from 1999–2000 to 2015–2016.
The researchers found that consumption of processed meats remained relatively unchanged (182 g/week in 1999–2000 compared with 187 g/week in 2015–2016), with lunch meat accounting for 39%, sausage 24%, hot dog 9%, ham 9%, and bacon 5%. Additionally, the consumption of seafood remained relatively unchanged (115 g/week in 1999–2000 compared with 116 g/week in 2015–2016).
They also found that the consumption of unprocessed red meat is decreasing (from 340 g/week in 1999–2000 compared with 284 g/week in 2015–2016), primarily due to decreased consumption of beef (down by 78 g/week). Meanwhile, Americans are eating more poultry—from 256 g/week in 1999–2000 to 303 g/week in 2015–2016.
The researchers noted that future research is needed to identify barriers to reducing processed meat consumption, evaluate the effectiveness of potential public health interventions, and explore policies such as nutrition quality standards, excise taxes, and health warning labels. Given that fish consumption in the most recent 2015–2016 time period was only half of the recommended level in the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, efforts are needed to promote the consumption and variety of seafood, especially those varieties high in omega-3 fatty acids, concluded the researchers.