Junk Food is Largest Source of Americans’ Calories

A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that the seven most federally subsidized food commodities (corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, sorghum, milk, and meat) account for the majority of calories consumed by Americans. Cakes, cookies, and doughnuts dominated the caloric count Top 10, but dairy and milk also made the list (through livestock feed subsidies). The researchers found that subjects who ate the most of these seven highly subsidized foods were 37 percent more likely to be obese. “We’re hoping that this information reaches policy makers and the people who influence how subsidies work,” said Ed Gregg, chief of the epidemiology and statistics branch in the Centers For Disease Control’s Division of Diabetes Translation.