Teenagers consume far more discretionary calories and far less fruits and vegetables than that recommended in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005

Abstract

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), 2005, recommend that Americans reduce their discretionary calorie intakes, the excess of which may lead to obesity, and increase intake of fruits and vegetables. The objectives of this study are to (1) determine the discretionary calorie, fruit, and vegetable intakes of 14 to 19 year old males (N=831) and females (N=787) in What We Eat In America, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003–2004, who had complete dietary data on day 1 of the survey, and (2) evaluate their diets in comparison to the DGA recommendations. The estimated mean intakes of males and females were compared using t‐tests at alpha =0.05 level of significance. Males consumed significantly more total energy per day than females (2756±77 vs. 2019±28 kcal), discretionary calories from fat (744±27 vs. 573±14 kcal), and added sugars (502±18 vs. 381±15 kcal). However, both males and females consumed on average 46% of their total energy as discretionary calories (19% from added sugars and 27% from fat). Both males and females ate only 1 cup equivalent of fruits and 1.3 cup equivalents of vegetables, far below the recommended levels of 2.5 and 2 cup equivalents of fruits and 3.5 and 2.5 cup equivalents of vegetables for males and females, respectively. The study showed that teenagers should reduce discretionary calorie intakes and increase fruit and vegetable intakes. Funding source for this study is USDA.