Here’s How Americans Are Failing to Meet Dietary Guidelines

The new dietary guidelinesreleased by the federal government on Thursday aren’t very new at all—in fact, one of the criticisms is that they don’t go far enough in encouraging Americans to change how they eat, particularly in light of the twin epidemics of heart disease and type-2 diabetes.

In describing the guidelines to reporters, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell noted, “Americans will be familiar with the majority of our findings.”

But Americans may not be so familiar with the guidelines—or if they are, they appear not to be following them, according to a nutrition survey from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which co-authored the 2015 guidelines with the HHS.

The majority of the 19,000 people surveyed from 2007-2010 consume less fruits, vegetables and dairy than is recommended by the 2015-2020 guidelines, and eat more sodium, saturated fat and added sugars than suggested.

Scroll down to see how how Americans are eating relative to the amounts suggested by USDA and HHS for a 2,000-calorie diet:

Vegetables

87% of Americans consume less than the recommended  2½ cups of vegetables per day. 

Vegetable consumption is lowest among preteens and teens, while intake is slightly higher during the adult years, though still below recommendations. Potatoes and tomatoes are the most commonly consumed vegetables, accounting for 21% and 18% of all vegetable consumption, respectively.

Dairy

86% of Americans consume less than the recommended  3 cups of dairy per day. 

Dairy intake is below suggested amounts for all age groups except children under 4. Critics say the guidelines’ push for low- and fat-free products is outdated advice.

Fruits

75% of Americans consume less than the recommended  2 cups of fruits per day. 

About one-third of the fruit consumed in the U.S. comes from fruit juice, while the rest comes from fresh, cooked, canned, frozen, and dried fruits.

Oils

72% of Americans consume less than the recommended  27 g of oils per day. That's about two tablespoons.

Oils are mostly consumed in packaged foods, like salad dressings, mayonnaise, prepared vegetables and snack chips, as well as nuts and seeds. The guidelines recommend using oils rather than solid fats (butter, margarine, lard) when preparing food.

Grains

44% of Americans consume less than the recommended  6 oz of grains per day. That's about 6 slices of bread, or 1½ bagels.

Although most Americans are consuming enough grain, the guidelines suggest that people consume more whole grain, as opposed to products made with refined grains.

Proteins

42% of Americans consume less than the recommended  5½ oz of proteins per day. That's about 1 chicken breast, or 6 tbps of peanut butter.

More than half of the population is meeting or exceeding the recommended protein intake, but people aren't eating enough from two protein subgroups—seafood and nuts—and the average man eats too much protein, the report found. Limits on red meat, recently classified by the World Health Organization as a carcinogen, were markedly absent from the report.

Sodium

89% of Americans consume more than the recommended limit of 2,300 mg of sodium per day. That's about one teaspoon.

Adult men consume an average of 4,240 mg of sodium per day, while adult women consume 2,980 mg per day. Most of that sodium is added during commercial food processing and preparation.

Saturated Fat

71% of Americans consume more than the recommended limit of 200 calories of saturated fat per day. 

The guidelines recommend replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat, particularly polyunsaturated fatty acids, found in fish, and vegetable oils.

Added Sugars

70% of Americans consume more than the recommended limit of 200 calories of added sugars per day. 

The limit on added sugars is a first for HHS. The average American consumes almost 270 calories from added sugars each day, largely coming from sugar-sweetened beverages and snacks and sweets.