Researchers say that, between the years 2005 and 2012, consumer purchases of cakes, cookies and pies dropped by 24%

Dec 22, 2014 12:33 GMT  ·  By

It's no mystery that, in this day and age, obesity is a major issue in the US. The somewhat good news is that, by the looks of it, at least some progress has been made when it comes to convincing people to embrace a healthier diet.

Thus, a new paper in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says that, between the years 2005 and 2012, folks living in this country bought and consumed considerably fewer cakes, cookies and pies than what used to be the norm.

On the downside, the researchers behind this investigation show that, during the same period, businesses marketing such products did very little to make cakes, cookies, pies and a like a wee healthier by lowering their sugar and fat content.

Saying goodbye to prepackaged baked goods

Writing in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, specialists with the University of North Carolina explain that, as part of this study, they looked at the popularity and the ingredients of treats such as donuts, pastries, pies, cakes, cookies and the like.

Possibly, in an attempt to make this study of theirs sound a wee more sciency, the researchers chose to refer to such products as ready-to-eat grain-based desserts. Mind you, they even went the extra mile and shortened this moniker to a more professional RTE GBDs.

As mentioned, evidence at hand indicates that, between the years 2005 and 2012, people in the US bought fewer RTE GBDs (that's ready-to-eat grain-based desserts or cookies, cakes, pies, pastries and donuts, in case you've forgotten) than they had used to. Specifically, sales dropped by 24%.

The University of North Carolina researchers suggest that this probably happened because people made a conscious decision to cut down on such treats, EurekAlert reports. Hopefully, they did not replace them with others, equally bad for their health and their waistline.

Manufacturers don't seem to care about public health

Several investigations carried out over the years have shown that RTE GBSs are one of the chief reasons many people in the US now pack a bit too much weight for their own good. The thing is that, by the looks of it, the folks making and marketing such products don't care about public health all that much.

On the contrary, specialists with the University of North Carolina say that, starting 2005 and until 2012, RTE GBDs manufacturers did little to make their products a tad more waistline-friendly by lowering their fat and sugar content. Otherwise put, people don't yet have healthier food options to pick and choose from.

“The results from this analysis show that the new RTE GBD products released in 2012 did not have lower energy, sugar, or saturated fat densities than the products already existing on the market,”  Dr. Kevin C. Mathias told the press in an interview.

Given the urgency to curb obesity rates in the country, the researcher and his colleagues recommend that officials and RTE GBDs manufacturers work together to reduce the sugar and fat content of cakes, pies, donuts and other similar treats.

As Dr. Kevin C. Mathias put it, “The results of this study indicated that larger wide-scale efforts are needed among public health officials and all manufacturers of RTE GBDs to shift consumer purchases towards products with lower energy, sugar, and saturated fat content.”

Study finds people in the US are trying to eat healthier (5 Images)

People in the US are now eating fewer cookies than they used to
They seem to have also cut down on piesBesides, donuts have too become less popular
+2more