Dietary guidelines statistics show a mixed picture of American eating patterns. In August 2021–August 2023, 69.9% of U.S. adults aged 20 and older ate fruit on a given day, while 93.3% ate vegetables. Yet national intake estimates still fell short of several Healthy People 2030 targets, including targets for whole grains, calcium, and potassium. The measurements below cover different periods and populations, so each date and age range matters.
Contents
- Fruit and vegetable consumption
- Whole grains and food groups
- Added sugar, saturated fat, and sodium
- Calcium, potassium, and vitamin D
- Adolescent diet quality
- Benchmarks in the Dietary Guidelines
Fruit and vegetable consumption
The CDC’s Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Adults: United States, August 2021–August 2023 reports whether adults consumed particular foods on a given day. These are daily-consumption measures, not estimates of whether people met recommended amounts.
Among adults aged 20 and older, 69.9% consumed any fruit during August 2021–August 2023. The share was 66.1% for men and 73.5% for women. Specific fruit categories were less common: 27.2% of men and 35.2% of women consumed citrus, melons, or berries, while 47.0% of men and 52.9% of women consumed other whole fruit.
Fruit consumption also differed by income relative to the federal poverty level. The share consuming any fruit was 56.9% among adults below 130% of the federal poverty level and 76.5% among those at 350% or more. For citrus, melons, or berries, the corresponding shares were 19.6% and 38.0%. For other whole fruit, they were 37.2% and 57.3%.
Vegetables appeared more often than fruit in the daily recall measure. Overall, 93.3% of adults aged 20 and older consumed any vegetable. Dark green vegetables were reported by 33.7% of men and 41.8% of women. The share consuming any vegetable was 88.5% below 130% of the federal poverty level and 95.9% at 350% or more.
The distinction between “any” consumption and recommended intake is important. A person can appear in the daily-consumption percentage after eating a small amount, so these figures should not be read as evidence that adults met daily cup-equivalent recommendations.
Whole grains and food groups
The Healthy People 2030 whole-grain objective measures whole-grain intake per 1,000 calories. People aged 2 and older consumed 0.41 ounce equivalents per 1,000 calories in 2017–2020. That was below the 0.46-ounce baseline for 2013–2016 and the 0.62-ounce target for 2030.
The broader guideline evidence also identifies a substantial whole-grain gap. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025 summarized evidence that about 98% of Americans fell below whole-grain recommendations, while about 74% exceeded refined-grain limits. At least 50% of total grain intake should be whole grains. One ounce-equivalent of 100% whole grains contains 16 grams of whole grains.
The following comparison uses average intake data from 2015–2016 and recommendation ranges from 2020–2025. It describes adolescents aged 14–18; it does not represent current intake for every age group.
| Food group | Males aged 14–18 | Females aged 14–18 | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vegetables | 1.2 cups/day | 1.0 cups/day | 2.5–4.0 cups/day |
| Fruit | 0.9 cups/day | 0.9 cups/day | 2.0–3.0 cups/day |
| Dairy | 2.3 cups/day | 1.6 cups/day | 3.0 cups/day |
| Protein foods | 6.0 oz eq/day | 4.1 oz eq/day | 5.5–7.0 oz eq/day |
The adolescent Healthy Eating Index score was 51 on a 0–100 scale in the 2015–2016 dietary intake data. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025 is the source for these adolescent comparisons.
Added sugar, saturated fat, and sodium
Healthy People 2030 tracks several nutrients and limits using different measurement periods. Mean added sugars provided 13.2% of calories for people aged 2 and older in 2017–2020, compared with a 13.5% baseline in 2013–2016 and an 11.5% target for 2030. The Healthy People 2030 added-sugar objective provides these estimates and targets.
Mean saturated fat supplied 11.9% of calories in 2021–2023. The baseline was 11.4% in 2013–2016, and the 2030 target is 8.4%, according to the Healthy People 2030 saturated-fat objective. Mean sodium intake from foods and beverages was 3,124 milligrams per day in 2021–2023, down from 3,414 milligrams in 2013–2016 but above the 2,731-milligram 2030 target. These sodium figures come from the Healthy People 2030 sodium objective.
The 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines set the following limits:
- Added sugars: less than 10% of total energy for people aged 2 and older.
- Saturated fat: less than 10% of total energy for people aged 2 and older.
- Sodium: less than 2,300 milligrams per day for adults and children aged 14 and older.
- Sodium for children aged 9–13: 1,800 milligrams per day.
- Sodium for children aged 14–18: 2,300 milligrams per day.
Older exceedance data show how common these limits were exceeded among adults aged 31–59. In 2013–2016, 59% of males and 63% of females exceeded the 10%-of-energy added-sugar limit; average intakes were 348 and 233 kilocalories, respectively. For saturated fat, 73% of males and 70% of females exceeded the limit, with average intakes of 284 and 211 kilocalories. Sodium exceeded 2,300 milligrams for 97% of males and 82% of females, whose average intakes were 4,172 and 3,062 milligrams. These exceedance figures and the guideline limits are from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025; the older measurements should not be treated as current estimates.
Calcium, potassium, and vitamin D
The nutrient targets show different directions of change. Mean calcium intake from foods, supplements, antacids, and drinking water was 988 milligrams per day for people aged 2 and older in 2021–2023. The 2013–2016 baseline was 1,077 milligrams, and the Healthy People 2030 target is 1,184 milligrams. See the Healthy People 2030 calcium objective.
Mean potassium intake from food and dietary supplements was 2,363 milligrams per day in 2021–2023, compared with 2,517 milligrams in 2013–2016 and a 2,769-milligram 2030 target. The Healthy People 2030 potassium objective identifies those values.
Vitamin D followed a different pattern. Mean intake from food and dietary supplements was 21.1 micrograms per day in 2021–2023, above both the 15.7-microgram 2013–2016 baseline and the 18.8-microgram 2030 target. The Healthy People 2030 vitamin D objective reports the estimate and target.
| Measure, people aged 2 and older | 2013–2016 baseline | Most recent estimate | 2030 target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calcium, mg/day | 1,077 | 988 (2021–2023) | 1,184 |
| Potassium, mg/day | 2,517 | 2,363 (2021–2023) | 2,769 |
| Vitamin D, mcg/day | 15.7 | 21.1 (2021–2023) | 18.8 |
These measures are not interchangeable: calcium includes drinking water and several supplement-related sources, while potassium and vitamin D use the source definitions stated above.
Adolescent diet quality
The 2015–2016 adolescent data show shortfalls across several food groups for children aged 9–13 as well as those aged 14–18. For males aged 9–13, average vegetable intake was 1.0 cup equivalent per day against a recommended range of 2.0–3.5 cups. For females, the average was also 1.0 cup against a range of 1.5–3.0 cups.
Average fruit intake was 0.9 cup equivalent for males and 1.0 cup for females, compared with a recommended range of 1.5–2.0 cups for both. Dairy intake averaged 2.0 cups for males and 1.8 cups for females, against 3.0 cups. Protein-food intake averaged 4.8 ounce equivalents for males, compared with a 5.0–6.5-ounce range, and 4.0 ounces for females, compared with a 4.0–6.0-ounce range.
These averages and the 2020–2025 recommendation ranges come from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025. They are historical intake data paired with later guideline recommendations, not a real-time assessment of today’s adolescents.
Benchmarks in the Dietary Guidelines
The Dietary Guidelines also provide practical proportions that help interpret food-group statistics. At least 50% of recommended fruit intake should come from whole fruit rather than 100% fruit juice. The evidence summarized in the 2020–2025 guidelines found that about 80% of the U.S. population did not meet fruit recommendations.
The whole-fruit benchmark complements the CDC’s adult daily-consumption results: 69.9% of adults consumed any fruit on a given day in August 2021–August 2023, but that statistic does not establish whether the amount or type met the recommendation. Similarly, 93.3% consumed any vegetable, without indicating whether their total vegetable intake reached a recommended cup-equivalent level.
Taken together, the statistics describe several distinct questions: whether a food was eaten on a particular day, how much of a food group was consumed, whether a nutrient exceeded a limit, and how an average compares with a long-term target. Keeping those definitions, age groups, geographies, and measurement periods visible is essential when using dietary guideline data to understand healthy eating patterns.