Less Added Sugars But Still 15% of Calories

Americans are taking in fewer calories from sugars and other added sweeteners than in decades previously, but sweeteners are still making up an average of about 380 calories of our day, according to a USDA report.

In the 1980s and 1990s. the amount of calories Americans consumed from added sweeteners steadily increased. At its peak, a person on average was consuming about 429 calories worth of added sweeteners, making up about 15 percent of average calorie intake.

By 2010, sweetener consumption dropped to 379 calories per day, about 15 percent of average total calorie intake.

Some familiar added sweeteners include cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, molasses and agave. 

The report attributes most of the drop to people drinking fewer sodas and other beverages sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, replacing them with water and other unsweetened beverages.

Source: USDA. U.S. per capita consumption of added sweeteners is now trending downward. March 2013.