Nutrition Monitoring - EFR 6-23

The article below is a good example of how sampling a whole population can provide us with a broad picture of where we should be focusing our nutrition education efforts.

Excerpted from FOOD CHEMICAL NEWS, February 26, 1996, pages 35-37.
This is the first of two EFRs.

Information from the Third Report on Nutrition Monitoring in the United States indicates that high blood cholesterol levels or hypertension and/or overweight are still prevalent although some diet-connected health messages have been getting out to Americans in recent years. The reporte noted that while Americans have cut back on their intake of total fats, saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, the amounts consumed still are above recommended levels. This report follows nutrition monitoring reports in 1986 and 1989.

Some of the data from the report shows that:

* Median total fat intake as a percentage of calories for adults was about 34% in 1988-91, down from about 36% in 1976-80

* Median saturated fatty acid intake at 12% to 13% in 1988-91, compared with 13% in 1976-80

* Fewer than 20% of children 6-11 years old, adolescents, 21% of adult males and 25% of adult females consumed diets containing recommended levels of total fat in 1989-91

The recommended levels are no more than 30% of calories for total fat and 8% to 10% of calories for saturated fatty acids.

* Median dietary cholesterol intakes were generally within the recommended range of < 300 mg/day, except among non-Hispanic black and Mexican-American males 16-59 years old

"Trends in the amounts of food available for consumption suggest that Americans are slowly changing their eating patterns toward more healthful diets," the report noted. For each person in the U.S.:

* Less red meat and more poultry were available in 1992 compared to 1972

* Shell eggs were down quite a bit from 268 per person in 1972 to 180 in 1992

* Lower-fat milk increased while availability of whole milk decreased

* Availability of grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes increased

* Availability of caloric sweeteners reached a high of 143 lb. in 1992 (attributed primarily to the use of high fructose corn syrup)

* Availability of low-calorie sweeteners (mainly aspartame and saccharin) more than tripled from 1980 to 1992

* Availability of regular and low-calorie soft drinks rose from 26 gal. to 44 gal. between 1972 and 1992

"By 1976, per capita availability of soft drinks had become greater than that of milk, fruit juices, coffee or bottled water," the report noted.

The report also looked at changes in high blood pressure (hypertension) over the last few decades. The number of persons with hypertension was relatively stable between 1960 and 1980, but by 1988-91 "a striking drop in prevalence was observed" with the overall prevalence of hypertension at 25% in adults 20 years of age and older

"This finding was unexpected, given the positive association between overweight and hypertension and the increase in the prevalence of overweight in the U.S. population between 1976-80 and 1988-91. The age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension between 1960 and 1991 was consistently higher in blacks than in whites. ...Some of the decrease has been attributed to primary prevention, such as following advice from health-care professionals to lower sodium intake, to lose weight if overweight, and to increase physical activity."

The report went on to note that, based on the Healthy People 2000 goals, a number of food components are considered health issues "because of evidence of adverse effects of high intakes" while others are of concern because of low intakes. These food components include:

* Food energy. Having one-third of adults and one-fifth of adolescents overweight indicates that energy balance is a continuing public health problem (i.e., food energy intakes exceed energy expenditures for many Americans).

* Total fat, saturated fatty acids and cholesterol. While declines in some parameters have been noted, the report stated that "substantial portions" of the U.S. population still have high serum total cholesterol levels and high intakes of total fat, saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, all of which are associated with elevated blood lipids, a risk factor for coronary heart disease.

* Iron and calcium. Low intakes are of concern, particularly for children one to two years old and adolescent and adult females. Median calcium intakes from food were consistently below recommended daily allowance values for adolescent and adult females and for males of most age and racial/ethnic groups. "Current calcium intakes by these groups may be insufficient to attain optimal peak adult bone mass and to prevent age-related loss of bone mass," the report said.

* Sodium. In 1988-91, when salt from the table was not counted, median intakes of sodium from food were still above the recommended maximum value of 2,400 mg/day.

For a copy of the full report, contact: Dianne Odland, Agricultural Research Service, at 301-344-2111.