32% of US adults consumed fast food on a given day in 2021 to 2023

Over thirty percent of adults and children consumed fast food on a given day during August 2021 to August 2023, according to two reports from the National Center for Health Statistics.

Nimit N. Shah, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, and colleagues estimated fast food consumption among U.S. adults during August 2021 to August 2023 using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The researchers found that on a given day, about one-third (32%) of adults aged 20 years and older consumed fast food. Adults consumed 11.7% of calories from fast food, with the percentage decreasing with age. Among adults, the percentage of calories consumed from fast food decreased from 14.1% during 2013-2014 to 11.7% during August 2021-August 2023.

In a second report, Shah and colleagues present updated estimates of fast-food consumption among children (ages 2 to 11) and adolescents (aged 12 to 19) from August 2021 to August 2023. The researchers found that 30.1% of youth ages 2 to 19 years consumed fast food on a given day during August 2021 to August 2023, with youth consuming 11.4% of their daily calories from fast food. The mean percentage of calories consumed from fast food was 8.5% and 14.6% for children and adolescents, respectively.

“Among youth ages 2 to 19 years, the mean percentage of calories consumed from fast food was higher in 2017 to March 2020 than August 2021 to August 2023,” Shah and colleagues write.

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