New American diet report card shows we’re just barely passing

With Cronuts, ramen burgers and calorie-laden mash-ups dominating our current food culture, it should come as no surprise that as a country we’re not scoring high marks for healthy diets.

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s new American diet report card, we’re barely passing.

The organization used data gathered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to give U.S. eaters a grade. The healthier the diet, the higher the grade. Americans have a GPA of 2.42 or as a letter, a C.

The report card shows that U.S. eaters are chowing down on 450 calories more per day than they were in 1970. And when it comes to grains, we’re going “gangbusters.” On average, we each eat 109 pounds of flour per year, a slightly lower number than the 116 pounds we consumed in 2000.

Our consumption of beef is down, but we’re binging on cheese with 23 pounds per person. The number of fruits and vegetables we eat has come to a standstill and our consumption of fats and oils has been rising since the ‘70s.

But we are learning.

When it comes to sweeteners, we’ve gone from 89 pounds of sugar per person in 1999 to 78 pounds of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

The report card suggests that Americans eat less red meat, cheese, starches and sweets if they want to score higher grades. Easier said than done, but worth a shot for a possible “most improved” nod next year.

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