Two new studies published in the journal Nutrition found that the origins of our calories are more than a little surprising. Researchers analyzed data from 22,852 people who participated in the five-year National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys and sorted out our nutritional intake by age and food group. Starting with the young ones: children ages 6-11 are getting the preponderance of their calories from store-bought, grain-based desserts (that’s a whole 4.8%), breads (4.4%), pasta (3.6%), and reduced-fat milk (3.3%.) Not exactly nutritionally well rounded. For adults ages 20-50, the breakdown is hardly healthier. The lion’s share of calories came from soda (4.5%), breads (4.2%), grain-based desserts (3.9%), pasta (2.7%), beef (2.5%), and chicken dishes (2.4%). Interestingly, foods we think of as calorically dense—foods like pizza, burgers, and French fries—are conspicuously absent. These types of foods contributed less energy to our diets than items like pasta and refined carbs, the study authors wrote. The second study parsed out sodium intake from the same data set, and wouldn’t you know it? The number-one source of sodium for children is pizza, accounting for a whole 8.3% of sodium levels. But children also fall prey to hidden sources of sodium: yeast breads clock in at 7.9%, and reduced-fat milk even makes an appearance at 3.2%. (Milk, by the way, accounted for more sodium in this age group than soup, potato chips, cold cuts, and burgers.) Adolescents from ages 12-19 had even stronger pizza habits at 10.3%, but our taste buds mature—somewhat—once we hit the 20-50 year mark. Most of this bracket’s sodium came from chicken dishes (7.3%), followed by yeast breads (7.2%), and the food Americans can’t seem to grow out of: pizza, at 6.4%. The over-50 group got most of their sodium fix from bread (9.4%), chicken (5.6%), sausage (5.2%), beef (4.9%), and, predictably, soup (4.6%). But there’s one piece of good news in this caloric, sodium-riddled disaster we call the Standard American Diet: Once you hit the golden years, pizza preference mercifully fell to 3%. More from Prevention: 4 Steps To A Diet-Friendly Pizza
