Americans consume far more calories than their bodies need and too many of these extra calories come from saturated and trans fats as well as added sugars. Furthermore, too few Americans receive sufficient levels of calcium, potassium and vitamin D.
Before this month’s White House conference on hunger, nutrition and health, a task force of doctors, chefs and food specialists is providing innovative ideas to solve its challenges.
Poor Diet Leads to Obesity
Poor diet is commonly linked to weight gain and obesity; however, many Americans remain unaware that poor eating can also contribute to other serious medical conditions, including heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and more. Furthermore, its effect is even more acute among lower income communities where obesity risk is three times higher compared to wealthier regions.
This recent Forbes article lists the healthiest states in America, but that isn’t the case everywhere. According to researchers, nearly half of American adults consume an unhealthy diet with too much sodium, refined grains and sugar as well as unhealthy fats; furthermore, Americans consume far fewer fruits, vegetables, whole grains and dairy products than recommended by health organizations.
This trend can be partially attributed to an increase in fast food consumption among American children and teens; an estimated one out of every three Americans consume fast food daily; research indicates that black and Hispanic children are more likely to eat fast food than white children; the authors of the study advocate for fast food restaurants to focus on improving nutrition by offering healthier meals.
The study also notes that obesity epidemic has resulted in an increase in medical costs and reduced workforce productivity, estimated to cost upwards of $2 trillion each year due to cardiovascular and diabetes-related health concerns.
Feeding America network households have more than half a member living with chronic illnesses like high blood pressure or diabetes, making the choice between food and medicine all too real for many of these individuals. Chronic illnesses place an undue strain on healthcare systems and government budgets while impacting quality of life – for instance people living with diabetes may have to choose between getting medication they require and paying for food – often having serious repercussions like kidney and eye disease, nerve damage and more; thus making hunger an integral component of this issue.
Poor Diet Leads to Heart Disease
Diet can help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Poor diets contribute to build-ups of plaque (a combination of fat, cholesterol and other substances) in arteries which block blood flow and may eventually result in heart attack or stroke. Diet also influences cholesterol levels, body weight and blood pressure – factors all which have an impactful influence on heart disease risks.
Diet is such an influential force when it comes to heart disease that it has overtaken smoking as the number one cause of CVD deaths, with two-thirds of CVD deaths estimated as preventable through better food choices.
Americans consume too much sodium, saturated fats, refined grains and too few fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy products, lean meats and healthy oils compared to what the Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest (less than 2,300 mg daily). A change in eating habits can significantly lower heart disease risk as well as high blood pressure and diabetes risk factors.
Poor diet has been linked with other serious health problems, including elevated blood cholesterol levels, overweight and obesity, diabetes, hypertension, certain cancers and inflammatory conditions like asthma and arthritis. By increasing our consumption of nutritious food items we can control weight, increase energy levels and enhance mental wellbeing.
Nutrition’s effects span all stages of life, from childhood through adulthood. Studies demonstrate how early experiences shape behavior and food preferences. Pregnancy nutrition supports fetal development while protecting mothers against gestational diabetes, excessive weight gain and iron deficiency anemia risks. Furthermore, providing children access to fresh healthy foods will enable them to build lasting eating habits which they will carry forward into adulthood.
Diet is essential to family well-being on all fronts – physical and emotional wellbeing alike. In order to promote healthier eating habits, efforts must be broad and holistic, including creating policies, programs and initiatives to expand access to affordable, nutritious foods. Increased consumption of fruits, vegetables and other nutritious food sources may reduce health-related problems while lessening financial strain on families.
Poor Diet Leads to Cancer
Dieting can help children develop optimally while decreasing adults’ risks of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. But many low-income communities and certain racial and ethnic groups struggle to access places with affordable healthier options; when they do find them they often opt for those high in calories but lacking nutritional value.
Obesity and chronic diseases pose an additional burden on health care costs, which have increased by over 50 percent in just the past decade alone. Unfortunately, this trend cannot be blamed solely on genetics, environment or luck; rather, poor food choices are to blame.
Poor diets can contribute to malnutrition and other problems. Malnutrition risks increase for individuals living with chronic illnesses who experience side effects that interfere with eating and absorbing essential nutrients, like cancer patients who may struggle to get sufficient nourishment due to side effects that alter taste, smell, appetite or treatment such as chemotherapy and radiation treatments which cause nutrient depletions in these therapies.
The task force report proposes the appointment of a National Director of Food and Nutrition as an “Food Czar,” to coordinate government efforts to improve diets through healthier eating, physical activity and weight control. The proposed position would take an interdisciplinary approach towards health that includes proper eating practices, regular physical activity and weight management.
Consumption of healthy food and nutrients worldwide was suboptimal in 2017, with milk, nuts and seeds, whole grains being particularly underconsumed compared with optimal consumption levels. Furthermore, sodium, sugar and red/processed meat intake was linked with more diet-related deaths and disability adjusted life years in most countries than other diet-related food sources.
The report highlights research showing that households with lower incomes and limited time for meal preparation tend to allocate a larger portion of their budget towards food; combined with subjective notions of affordability, this makes it hard for low-income households to afford a healthy diet as described by the Thrifty Food Plan.
Poor Diet Leads to Diabetes
Studies conducted on both animals and humans demonstrate the correlation between unhealthy diets and weight gain/obesity as well as various other health problems – such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes – as well as diets rich in fats or processed sugars and an unhealthy lifestyle and obesity, along with osteoporosis or breathing issues such as asthma.
Prediabetes is on the rise among young Americans and can quickly progress to Type 2 diabetes if left untreated. Therefore, it’s essential that small meals be eaten five or six times each day along with physical activity in order to protect your health from prediabetes and eventually Type 2.
Feeding America recently reported that diet quality among American children improved modestly between 1999 and 2016, though children from low-income households remain more likely to have poor diets than children from higher income families.
This could be because they live in areas without grocery stores that sell healthy foods, and may lack the money to purchase them. Furthermore, these children tend to be overweight and less active than other children.
Dieting doesn’t need to cost more than eating an unhealthy American diet; according to a recent study conducted at State University of New York researchers, families instructed by them to base their meals around low-cal, high-nutrient foods actually spent less.
Households receiving maximum benefit amounts under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamp Program) now find that maintaining a nutritious diet modeled on the Thrifty Food Plan is more affordable than it was previously. Thus, more healthful food options are now more readily accessible for low-income households; yet more work needs to be done in improving all Americans’ diets.
It is time for a national effort to address this pressing issue, so the task force has proposed creating a national director for food and nutrition – an effective “food czar”. This would streamline and coordinate existing efforts toward better eating habits while encouraging community-based programs like cooking classes, nutrition counseling services and workplace initiatives aimed at encouraging healthier diets.