NEW YORK – The New York Times writes this weekend about the increasingly healthful trends in American eating habits.  According to the article, calories consumed daily by the typical American adult, which peaked around 2003, are in the midst of their first sustained decline since federal statistics began to track the subject, more than 40 years ago. In another encouraging trend, the number of calories that the average American child takes in daily has fallen even more — by at least 9%.

While the decline is consistent across various demographics, the “most striking shift,” according to the publication is the 25% decrease in the amount of full-calorie soda drunk since the late 1990s.

As overall calorie consumption has declined, obesity rates appear to have stopped rising for adults and school-aged children and have come down for the youngest children, suggesting the calorie reductions are making a difference. The reversal appears to stem from people’s growing realization that they were harming their health by eating and drinking too much. The awareness began to build in the late 1990s, thanks to a burst of scientific research about the costs of obesity, and to public health campaigns in recent years.

There is no single moment when American attitudes toward eating changed, according to the New York Times, but many researchers point to a 1999 study as a breakthrough. That year, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a paper in The Journal of the American Medical Association that turned into something of a blockbuster.

The paper included bright blue maps illustrating worsening obesity rates in the 1980s and 1990s in all 50 states. While researchers knew the obesity rate was rising, this study provided stark evidence. “People became more aware of it in a very visual and impactful way,” Hank Cardello, a former food industry executive who is now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told the New York Times for their article. “That created a lot of attention and concern.” (Hank Cardello will be joining NACS Vice President for Strategic Industry Initiatives Jeff Lenard for the education session, “Grow Sales the Healthy Way” at the 2015 NACS Show in Las Vegas. Learn more here.)

Slowly, the messages appear to have sunk in with the public. By 2003, 60% of Americans said they wanted to lose weight, according to Gallup, up from 52% in 1990 and 35% in the 1950s. Outside of beverages, there are few clear trends. Experts who have examined the data say the reductions do not mean that Americans are flocking to farmer’s markets and abandoning fast food. Consumption of fruits and vegetables remains low; consumption of desserts remains high. Instead, people appear to be eating a little less of everything. And the trend does not appear to extend to the very heaviest Americans. Among the most overweight people, weight and waist circumference have all continued rising in recent years.

The complete New York Times article is available here.