Here’s how the American diet has changed in the last 52 years (2024)

American calorie intake in the last 52 years

The average American consumes more than 3,600 calories daily – a 24% increase from 1961, when the averagewas just 2,880 calories.

Americans haven't increased their consumption of all food and drinkevenly, however— our alcohol intake peaked in the 1980s, but our growingconsumption of vegetable oils alone accounts for more than half of the calorie spike.

Usingdata from The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOSTAT)— which tracks caloric intakethrough 2013 — we've analyzedthe diet changes that might becontributing to the obesity problem in the United States.

Check out the estimated calorieneeds broken down by age, gender, and activity level.