ArticleThe Journal of nutrition2022
Junk Food Intake Among Adults in the United States.
Article in The Journal of nutrition, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ultra-Processed Food Intake Is Associated with High Consumption of Added Sugar and Sodium in U.S. Infants.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Rejecting Health as a Justification for Junk Food Taxes.Journal of bioethical inquiry · 2026Article
- Junk Food Consumption Trends, Patterns, and Awareness of Its Health Risks Among University Students in Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- The contribution of moderation foods to total energy intake by sociodemographic characteristics in U.S. adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2017 - 2020.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Publicly tasting cultivated meat and socially constructing perceived value politics and identity.NPJ science of food · 2025Article
- Intake of Snacks and Sweets in a National Study of Built and Social Environments: the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke Study.The Journal of nutrition · 2024Article
- Characteristics Associated With Purchasing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Bottled Water Among US Households, 2015.Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2024Article
- Obesogenic Diet Cycling Produces Graded Effects on Cognition and Microbiota Composition in Rats.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2023Article
- US Policies That Define Foods for Junk Food Taxes, 1991-2021.The Milbank quarterly · 2023Article
- Article
- Dietary folate intake and fecundability in two preconception cohorts.Human reproduction (Oxford, England) · 2022Article
- Reported Changes in Eating Habits Related to Less Healthy Foods and Beverages during the COVID-19 Pandemic among US Adults.Nutrients · 2022Article
- The Racialized Marketing of Unhealthy Foods and Beverages: Perspectives and Potential Remedies.The Journal of law, medicine & ethics : a journal of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThere is no consensus on how to define "junk food." In 2016, Chile implemented the most comprehensive set of obesity-preventive regulations in the world, including criteria to define unhealthy foods.
objectivesThe objective of this study was to examine the amount of energy, sodium, sugar, and saturated fat consumed by US adults defined as junk food using the Chilean criteria.
methodsWe used 2 nationally representative surveys of food intake in 10,001 US adults: NHANES 2015-2016 and NHANES 2017-2018. The main outcome measures were the contributions of energy, total sugars, saturated fat, and sodium deriving from junk food sources. Mean intake and proportion of energy, sugar, saturated fat, and sodium for junk food overall and each food category were calculated.
resultsOverall, 47% of energy, 75% of total sugar, 46% of sodium, and 48% of saturated fat consumed by US adults derived from junk food sources. Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) were responsible for more than 40% of total sugar intake deriving from junk foods. Non-Hispanic black adults had the highest mean energy, total sugar, and sodium intake deriving from junk foods, with non-Hispanic white adults having the highest saturated fat intake. Non-Hispanic black adults had the highest intake of total sugar deriving from junk food sources of SSBs (26.7 g/d), with SSBs representing >40% of total sugar intake deriving from junk food sources for all race/ethnic groups.
conclusionsFoods that meet the Chilean criteria for junk food provide approximately half or more daily energy and food components to limit in the diet of US adults, with important differences observed between race/ethnic groups. Policy efforts to reduce junk food intake, particularly the intake of SSBs, must be expanded to improve the cardiometabolic health equitably in the United States.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.