TABLE 2.
Trends in estimated percent energy (%E) from total and subtypes of junk food among US adults aged 20+ y by NHANES cycle, 2001–20181
| Survey-weighted mean %E (95% CI)2 | Mean change from 2001–2002 to 2015–2016 (95% CI) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated percentage of energy, % | 2001–2002 (n = 4744) | 2003–2004 (n = 4448) | 2005–2006 (n = 4520) | 2007–2008 (n = 5420) | 2009–2010 (n = 5762) | 2011–2012 (n = 4801) | 2013–2014 (n = 5047) | 2015–2016 (n = 5017) | 2017–2018 (n = 4742) | P-trend | |
| Total junk food3 | 14.1 (13.6, 14.7) | 13.8 (13.2, 14.4) | 13.9 (13.1, 14.7) | 13.5 (12.7, 14.3) | 12.8 (12.4, 13.2) | 13.5 (12.6, 14.3) | 13.8 (13.0, 14.5) | 12.8 (12.3, 13.3) | 13.0 (12.4, 13.6) | 0.002 | –1.20 (–2.0, –0.32) |
| Savory snacks | |||||||||||
| Potato chips | 0.90 (0.75, 1.04) | 1.03 (0.92, 1.14) | 1.04 (0.92, 1.17) | 1.08 (0.95, 1.20) | 0.90 (0.79, 1.0) | 1.01 (0.90, 1.13) | 0.96 (0.87, 1.04) | 1.05 (0.90, 1.20) | 1.04 (0.92, 1.16) | 0.44 | 0.14 (–0.05, 0.33) |
| Tortilla, corn, or otherchips | 1.18 (1.05, 1.31) | 1.03 (0.86, 1.20) | 1.15 (0.97, 1.33) | 1.09 (0.95, 1.24) | 1.10 (0.96, 1.24) | 1.09 (0.86, 1.32) | 1.13 (0.99, 1.26) | 1.02 (0.91, 1.13) | 1.04 (0.90, 1.18) | 0.26 | –0.14 (–0.33, 0.05) |
| Popcorn | 0.52 (0.42, 0.61) | 0.50 (0.39, 0.60) | 0.46 (0.37, 0.54) | 0.50 (0.40, 0.59) | 0.49 (0.40, 0.58) | 0.38 (0.27, 0.48) | 0.44 (0.35, 0.54) | 0.50 (0.39, 0.60) | 0.46 (0.37, 0.56) | 0.36 | –0.05 (–0.19, 0.08) |
| Pretzels/snack mix | 0.42 (0.31, 0.52) | 0.40 (0.30, 0.50) | 0.34 (0.23, 0.46) | 0.39 (0.23, 0.56) | 0.34 (0.28, 0.40) | 0.37 (0.25, 0.49) | 0.44 (0.33, 0.54) | 0.30 (0.26, 0.35) | 0.38 (0.28, 0.49) | 0.55 | –0.03 (–0.18, 0.12) |
| Crackers | |||||||||||
| Crackers excludessaltines | 0.86 (0.67, 1.06) | 0.61 (0.55, 0.67) | 0.75 (0.66, 0.84) | 0.79 (0.67, 0.91) | 0.72 (0.62, 0.81) | 0.76 (0.63, 0.88) | 0.77 (0.68, 0.86) | 0.82 (0.70, 0.94) | 0.69 (0.57, 0.80) | 0.93 | –0.17 (–0.40, 0.05) |
| Saltine crackers | 0.26 (0.20, 0.33) | 0.24 (0.19, 0.28) | 0.25 (0.18, 0.32) | 0.23 (0.20, 0.26) | 0.21 (0.16, 0.26) | 0.21 (0.17, 0.25) | 0.19 (0.15, 0.24) | 0.14 (0.11, 0.18) | 0.20 (0.12, 0.28) | 0.009 | –0.07 (–0.17, 0.04) |
| Snack/meal bars | |||||||||||
| Cereal bars | 0.21 (0.13, 0.28) | 0.24 (0.18, 0.30) | 0.37 (0.26, 0.48) | 0.40 (0.31, 0.49) | 0.35 (0.28, 0.42) | 0.36 (0.29, 0.43) | 0.43 (0.34, 0.53) | 0.43 (0.33, 0.54) | 0.35 (0.25, 0.45) | 0.001 | 0.14 (0.01, 0.27) |
| Nutrition bars | 0.11 (0.05, 0.16) | 0.12 (0.07, 0.18) | 0.07 (0.04, 0.1) | 0.08 (0.06, 0.11) | 0.07 (0.05, 0.09) | 0.14 (0.09, 0.18) | 0.18 (0.12, 0.25) | 0.37 (0.25, 0.48) | 0.43 (0.24, 0.62) | <0.001 | 0.32 (0.12, 0.52) |
| Sweet bakery products | |||||||||||
| Cakes and pies | 2.38 (2.07, 2.68) | 2.71 (2.38, 3.05) | 2.59 (2.3, 2.87) | 2.44 (2.13, 2.74) | 2.16 (1.88, 2.43) | 2.27 (1.96, 2.58) | 2.31 (2.04, 2.58) | 1.88 (1.59, 2.18) | 1.87 (1.64, 2.10) | <0.001 | –0.51 (–0.89, –0.13) |
| Cookies and brownies | 2.20 (2.01, 2.39) | 1.92 (1.70, 2.13) | 1.90 (1.75, 2.05) | 1.81 (1.68, 1.94) | 1.89 (1.74, 2.05) | 2.47 (2.35, 2.58) | 2.42 (2.27, 2.56) | 2.20 (2.02, 2.37) | 2.29 (2.11, 2.47) | <0.001 | 0.09 (–0.17, 0.35) |
| Doughnuts, sweetrolls, pastries | 0.95 (0.73, 1.16) | 0.93 (0.82, 1.04) | 0.86 (0.64, 1.07) | 0.81 (0.67, 0.95) | 0.70 (0.60, 0.81) | 0.81 (0.66, 0.95) | 0.83 (0.74, 0.92) | 0.76 (0.65, 0.87) | 0.82 (0.63, 1.01) | 0.13 | –0.13 (–0.41, 0.16) |
| Candy | |||||||||||
| Candy containingchocolate | 1.29 (1.09, 1.49) | 1.35 (1.16, 1.55) | 1.29 (1.19, 1.39) | 1.34 (1.14, 1.55) | 1.10 (0.98, 1.23) | 1.06 (0.88, 1.25) | 1.15 (0.98, 1.32) | 0.97 (0.81, 1.12) | 1.06 (0.85, 1.27) | <0.001 | –0.23 (–0.52, 0.06) |
| Candy not containingchocolate | 0.68 (0.55, 0.81) | 0.52 (0.41, 0.62) | 0.53 (0.36, 0.69) | 0.48 (0.39, 0.57) | 0.53 (0.47, 0.60) | 0.51 (0.39, 0.62) | 0.57 (0.46, 0.68) | 0.46 (0.37, 0.54) | 0.49 (0.37, 0.62) | 0.1 | –0.19 (–0.37, –0.005) |
| Other desserts | |||||||||||
| Ice cream and frozendairy desserts | 1.84 (1.64, 2.04) | 1.85 (1.66, 2.03) | 1.95 (1.73, 2.17) | 1.75 (1.60, 1.89) | 1.92 (1.66, 2.19) | 1.71 (1.47, 1.95) | 1.70 (1.47, 1.92) | 1.69 (1.45, 1.94) | 1.67 (1.44, 1.89) | 0.04 | –0.17 (–0.47, 0.13) |
| Pudding | 0.22 (0.18, 0.27) | 0.19 (0.16, 0.21) | 0.24 (0.18, 0.30) | 0.24 (0.20, 0.28) | 0.19 (0.16, 0.21) | 0.20 (0.15, 0.26) | 0.20 (0.15, 0.25) | 0.14 (0.11, 0.17) | 0.14 (0.08, 0.21) | 0.002 | –0.08 (–0.15, –0.001) |
| Gelatins, ices, sorbets | 0.14 (0.09, 0.18) | 0.19 (0.13, 0.24) | 0.09 (0.05, 0.13) | 0.10 (0.08, 0.13) | 0.13 (0.09, 0.16) | 0.12 (0.09, 0.15) | 0.07 (0.04, 0.09) | 0.06 (0.04, 0.08) | 0.05 (0.03, 0.07) | <0.001 | –0.08 (–0.13, –0.04) |
The survey-weighted mean consumption from the major subcategory totals is shown in Figure 1.
Data were weighted to be nationally representative. P-trend was calculated with linear regression models and statistical significance was set at a 2-tailed α = 0.05.
Junk food and its subgroups were defined according to the specified categories based on the USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies food grouping codes, including sugars and sweets; cakes, cookies, pies, pastries, and bars; crackers and salted snacks from grain products; milk desserts and puddings; and potato chips. To allow for potentially healthy options in these categories, we excluded any products with higher-quality fats (for products with ≥5% energy from fat), defined as an unsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio of 4:1 or higher; higher-quality carbohydrates (for products with ≥10% energy from carbohydrate), defined as a carbohydrate to fiber ratio of 10:1 or lower; and with sodium content at or below the 2-y category-specific draft FDA voluntary sodium guidelines.