Dietary Influences on Food Consumption

Americans are constantly introduced to new diets while many organizations release guidelines on what and how much we should consume. At the same time, individuals have been trying to seek the truth for themselves and often this leads to dissent. How have these factors influenced food consumption in America?

Timeline of Influences

timeline1950196019701980199020002010Todaygrapefruit dietidea of low-calorie eating bornvegetarianismveggies only for weight losslow caloriecounting calories and low-cal alternativeslow fatfat packs 9 cals per gram vs 4 in proteins and carbsatkins diethigh protein, low carb diet veganismplant-based and dairy free eatingFood Inc.sheds light on industrial produc-tion of meatFed Uplarge amounts of processed sugars as root of obesity epidemicall-naturalcutting out artificial food additivies and preservatives, natural, local and green foods1956 USDA guidelines4 food groups, but no mention of fats, sugars, and calorie intake1979 USDA guidelines guidelines now include a 5th group to highlight moderate intake of fats, sweets, and alcohol1984 USDA guidelinesnutrient adequacy and modera-tion are emphasized2005 USDA guidelinesconcept of physical activity is introduced, daily amounts updated

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Consumption is measured in millions pounds. Data has been extracted from USDA's Economic Research Service. The data has been cleaned to only depict values for American consumption. Grey background on the graph is population.

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Consumption by the Year

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Press play or drag the slider to view consumption per year. Each square represents 100 million pounds consumed.