USDA ERS – Food Consumption and Nutrient Intake Trends Emerged Over the Last Forty Years

USDA, now in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has conducted food consumption surveys for decades. Using USDA nutrient and food composition databases, information from these surveys is translated into measures of food group and nutrient intakes, allowing researchers, policymakers, public health professionals, and nutrition educators to assess how U.S. diets compare to dietary recommendations. Researchers from USDA, the Economic Research Service (ERS), and the University of Georgia used survey data from 1977 to 2018 to compare the quality of current diets to Federal dietary recommendations and examine consumption trends over four decades.

US Diets Do Not Meet Most Federal Recommendations for Food Groups and Nutrients

Since 1980, the Federal Government has published the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), which are based on expert recommendations for what and how much to eat. By law, the DGA recommendations are updated every 5 years, and a Federal advisory committee of nutrition experts is currently working on the 2025-30 update. These experts rely on data from many sources, including Federal food consumption surveys, to understand how U.S. consumers eat and how diets compare to recommendations.

In 2017–18, average food consumption and nutrient intakes of U.S. consumers showed significant room for improvement in meeting DGA recommendations. Diet quality is measured by nutrient and food group density, or intake per 1,000 calories. Based on density, U.S. consumers consume less than recommended amounts of many nutrients and food groups and higher than recommended levels of others. On average, U.S. diets differed more than 20 percent from recommended levels of density for 16 of the 23 nutrients and food groups examined. Across nutrients, diets contained lower than recommended densities of dietary fiber and iron and higher than recommended densities of saturated fat and sodium. For food groups, lower than recommended densities were found for dairy products, total vegetables, dark green vegetables, red and orange vegetables, starchy vegetables, legumes, other vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and seafood. Densities of added sugars and refined grains were higher than recommended. Food groups and nutrients with densities within 20% of the recommended range included calcium, total fats, protein foods in general, the meat, poultry, and eggs category, total grains, oils, and nuts, seeds, and soy category.

US Consumers Are Eating More Food Away from Home—Impacts on Diet Quality

The data suggest that where food is sourced plays a significant role in dietary quality. Foods obtained from supermarkets, grocery stores, and similar retail outlets primarily for preparation and consumption at home (meals at home or FAH) were generally of higher dietary quality than foods obtained from restaurants, fast food restaurants, and other establishments consumed away from home or via takeout or delivery (meals away from home or FAFH). This is of particular concern because the data suggest that FAFH is an increasing part of U.S. consumers’ diets.

The researchers examined data on foods obtained from grocery stores and similar retailers (FAH), restaurants, fast-food establishments, elementary, middle and high schools or childcare centers, and other sources away from home. One of the most striking changes in U.S. eating habits over the four decades studied was a decline in FAH consumption in favor of FAFH.

Foods purchased for consumption outside the home are generally considered to be of lower dietary quality than FAH. A notable exception is the food that children eat at school or daycare. School-derived food consists primarily of USDA school meals (lunches brought from home are considered FAH) and must meet Federal nutrition standards. For example, school meals have long been required to include milk, and during the study period, school meals were the richest source of calcium in children’s diets. The nutrition standards for USDA meals were updated in 2012 to emphasize low-fat or fat-free milk, require more fruits, whole grains, and a healthier mix of vegetables, and limit saturated fat and sodium. Following these changes, school meals became the richest source of fruits and whole grains in children’s diets.

At the same time, the density of saturated fat and sodium in school foods has decreased. In 2017-18, school foods were the only food source that came close to meeting the standard of 10 percent or less of calories from saturated fat.

In terms of sodium, all food sources exceeded the reference density of 1,150 milligrams (mg) per 1,000 calories, but school foods came closest to that value at 1,343 mg per 1,000 calories.

Diet Quality Differences Emerge Across Demographic Groups

ERS and University of Georgia researchers also identified differences in dietary trends associated with demographics. This information could be useful to nutrition educators as well as policy and program officials working to reduce disparities in diet quality across demographic groups in the United States.

They found that dietary fiber density did not vary by race and ethnicity in the early years of the study period, but the difference in fiber density by race and ethnicity has widened since then. Since 1994–98, the diets of non-Hispanic Black people have been lower in fiber density than those of non-Black people. In 2017–18, the Hispanic population and individuals of other races and ethnicities had a diet containing 9.2 grams of fiber per 1,000 calories, which was higher than the 7.7 grams consumed by non-Hispanic White people and the 7 grams consumed by Black people.

In 2017–18, diets of more highly educated individuals had lower added sugar densities than diets of less educated individuals: 7.2 teaspoons per 1,000 calories for those who attended college, 8.5 teaspoons per 1,000 calories for individuals with less than a high school education, and 8.4 teaspoons per 1,000 calories for those with a high school education. Added sugar intake densities also varied by income level. In 2017–18, foods consumed by high-income households contained 7.2 teaspoons per 1,000 calories, compared with 8.6 and 8.4 teaspoons in middle- and low-income households, respectively.