6 charts that show how much more Americans eat than they used to
Aug 25, 2024, 19:09 IST
The average American consumes more than 3,600 calories daily - a 24% increase from 1961, when the average was just 2,880 calories.
Americans haven't increased their consumption of all food and drink evenly, however - our alcohol intake peaked in the 1980s, but our increased consumption of vegetable oils alone accounts for more than half of the calorie spike.
Using data from The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOSTAT) - which tracks caloric intake through 2013 - we've analyzed the diet changes that might be contributing to the obesity problem in the United States. Here's the breakdown: