American adults continue to suffer from the consequences of a poor diet, which is a major risk factor for numerous diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. In fact, more than one million Americans die every year from diet-related illnesses. This not only affects individuals’ health and well-being but also leads to an estimated $1.1 trillion in healthcare expenditures and lost productivity.
Poor diet and food insecurity contribute to significant health disparities based on income, education, zip code, race, and ethnicity. According to a study by the Food is Medicine Institute at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, despite a modest improvement in diet quality among U.S. adults between 1999 and 2020, the number of people with poor diet quality remains high. Furthermore, disparities in diet quality persist and worsen in some cases.
Cardiologist Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food is Medicine Institute and senior author on the study, emphasizes the importance of addressing barriers that hinder access to nutritious food. The study analyzed data from ten cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2020 on 51,703 adults who completed at least one valid 24-hour dietary recall. The findings highlight the urgent need to prioritize nutritional equity to ensure that all Americans have access to nourishing food.
In conclusion, poor nutrition continues to have a significant impact on American adults’ health outcomes and is a major risk factor for various diseases such as obesity
