According to this study and the accompanying editorial, yes. Not much, but this seems to indicate, a slight move in the right direction in a few areas
Original Investigation | June 21, 2016
Dietary Intake Among US Adults, 1999-2012
JAMA. 2016;315(23):2542-2553. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.7491.
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.asp ... id=2529628Several overall dietary improvements were identified (P < .01 for trend for each). The AHA primary diet score (maximum of 50 points) improved from 19.0 to 21.2 (an improvement of 11.6%). The AHA secondary diet score (maximum of 80 points) improved from 35.1 to 38.5 (an improvement of 9.7%). Changes were attributable to increased consumption between 1999-2000 and 2011-2012 of whole grains (0.43 servings/d; 95% CI, 0.34-0.53 servings/d) and nuts or seeds (0.25 servings/d; 95% CI, 0.18-0.34 servings/d) (fish and shellfish intake also increased slightly) and to decreased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (0.49 servings/d; 95% CI, 0.28-0.70 servings/d). No significant trend was observed for other score components, including total fruits and vegetables, processed meat, saturated fat, or sodium. The estimated percentage of US adults with poor diets (defined as <40% adherence to the primary AHA diet score components) declined from 55.9% to 45.6%, whereas the percentage with intermediate diets (defined as 40% to 79.9% adherence to the primary AHA diet score components) increased from 43.5% to 52.9%. Other dietary trends included increased consumption of whole fruit (0.15 servings/d; 95% CI, 0.05-0.26 servings/d) and decreased consumption of 100% fruit juice (0.11 servings/d; 95% CI, 0.04-0.18 servings/d). Disparities in diet quality were observed by race/ethnicity, education, and income level; for example, the estimated percentage of non-Hispanic white adults with a poor diet significantly declined (53.9% to 42.8%), whereas similar improvements were not observed for non-Hispanic black or Mexican American adults. There was little evidence of reductions in these disparities and some evidence of worsening by income level.
Editorial | June 21, 2016
Changing Dietary Habits and Improving the Healthiness of Diets in the United States
JAMA. 2016;315(23):2527-2529. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.7636.
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.asp ... id=2529605"New approaches are emerging, and it will be exciting to track their progress. For instance, a retired executive from a food store chain is addressing food distribution9 by operating a store that sells nearly out of date or unwanted foodstuffs at prices affordable to individuals with low levels of income. A food science graduate student has created a cookbook of af- fordable and tasty dishes to meet a food budget of $4/d.10 Some cities are incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables into their food bank offerings (eg, San Antonio, Texas, distributes fresh fruits and vegetables donated by local farmers and supple- ments this with produce grown on its own 5-acre farm).11
Achieving dietary changes remains a challenging task. The advice of clinicians may not provide lasting effects unless pa- tients can incorporate meaningful dietary changes into a daily sustainable pattern. How to best accomplish this task is the goal. The article by Rehm et al3 provides a current dietary re- port card to help with this task. Even though there has been some improvement from 1999 to 2012, clinicians, patients, and the food industry all need to work together to meet the chal- lenge of improving the healthiness of the US diet."
In Health
Jeff