Diets of US adults: too much sugar, saturated fat

U.S. adults made modest improvements to their diets in recent years but still eat too much low-quality carbohydrates and saturated fat based on an analysis of nationally representative survey data. The study included data from nearly 44,000 adults who reported their dietary intake in a 24-hour period. Researchers report a decline in the consumption of low-quality carbohydrates (primarily added sugar) and increases in high-quality carbohydrates (primarily whole grains), plant protein (primarily whole grains and nuts) and polyunsaturated fatty acids from 1999 to 2016. However, intake of low-quality carbohydrates and saturated fat remained high. There was slight improvement in overall diet quality as assessed by a measure of adherence to key recommendations in dietary guidelines. A limitation of the study is its use of self-reported dietary data.