Majority of Americans Ignore Food Pyramid

BETHESDA, Md.Nearly the entire U.S. population consumes a diet that is not on par with recommendations with the federal MyPyramid, according to a study published online in the Journal of Nutrition.

Researchers from the National Cancer Institute and the USDAs Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion sought to determine the proportion of the U.S. population who does not meet federal dietary recommendations. Data was obtained from the 20012004 NHANES for 16,338 persons, aged 2 years and older. Quantities of foods reported on 24-hour recalls were translated into amounts of various food groups using the MyPyramid Equivalents Database. Usual dietary intake distributions were modeled, accounting for sequence effect, weekend/weekday effect, sex, age, poverty income ratio, and race/ethnicity.

According to the findings, the majority of the population did not meet recommendations for all of the nutrient-rich food groups, except total grains and meat and beans. Overconsumption of energy from solid fats, added sugars and alcoholic beverages was ubiquitous. More than 80 percent of persons age  71 years and over 90 percent of all other sex-age groups had intakes of empty calories that exceeded the discretionary calorie allowances.