Empty Calories Fuel America's Obesity Crisis

 There is no doubt that Americans are suffering from increasing rates obesity. It is not only affecting adults, but also our children and even infants. It has reached the crisis point where type 2 diabetes, previously seen only in adults, is now being diagnosed in children, directly related to weight and poor diet.

Also, the food then was not processed, sugared and stacked with high-caloried goodies. We ate to sustain our bodies when we were hungry. This is a concept that many are not even aware of when they eat. Food is so available and alluring that instant gratification is the priority, not fuel for the body.

Americans love to snack. We do at the movie theater, at our desks at work, in front of the TV, in the car, even on the subway. There's hardly a time during the day when we aren't putting food in our faces.

The habit of eating between meals has increased over the last 30 years, a new study published in PLoS Medicine finds. Snacks have basically become the fourth meal of the day — accounting for 580 extra calories per day, most of which come from beverages — and may be a primary contributor to our expanding waistlines, the study finds.

Analyzing data from four nutritional surveys conducted between 1977 and 2006 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the study found that Americans went from eating an average 3.8 meals and snacks a day to 4.9 a day over the last three decades — a 29% increase. The average American now consumes about 2,375 calories per day, about a third more than in the '70s.

Portion sizes increased during that time too, but only by 12%. The authors say the real driver of our increased caloric intake is snacking. The data suggest that, assuming a constant tradition of three meals per day, the number of daily snacks has doubled.........