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We eat more overall - Food is cheaper and easier to get for most Americans, which makes overeating easier. This is one of the primary reasons obesity levels have skyrocketed since the 1970s.

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We eat more overall - In 2010, the average American consumed 2,481 calories a day, about 23% more than in 1970.

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We eat more flours and grains - The average American today eats more bread and pastries, foods that are typically rich in calories and carbohydrates, though they contain hardly any fiber, minerals, or vitamins.

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Flours and grains - About 23.4% of the average American’s daily calories come from this food group—that translates into about 581 calories.

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Flours and grain - However, consumption of flours and grains is down from 2000, the year of “peak grain,” when per capita annual consumption was at 137.6 lbs per year.

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We consume more fats and oils - Compared to the 1970s, the average American’s consumption of oils and fats is way up. The average American consumes 23.2% of their daily 2,481 calories from the fats and oils group, or 575 calories.

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Fats and oils - Most of the fats consumed by Americans are in the form of vegetable oils, such as soybean, corn, canola, which are used as ingredients to cook foods.

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Cooking oil - The average American consumes 36 lbs of cooking oils—more than three times the amount we consumed in the early 1970s.

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Butter vs. margarine - Butter consumption has remained largely the same since the 1970s at 3.3 lbs per person per year, while margarine consumption has plummeted from a peak of 7.2 lbs per person per year in 1976 to 2 lbs in 2010.

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We’re eating more chicken and less beef - In the past decade, chicken topped beef as the most-consumed meat. In 2014, Americans ate an average of 48 lbs of chicken a year (2 oz a day), versus 39.4 lbs (1.7 oz a day) of beef.

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We’re eating more chicken and less beef - Chicken consumption has more than doubled since 1970, while beef consumption has fallen by more than a third.

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We’re drinking way less milk - Americans are drinking 42% less milk than they did in 1970, especially whole milk.

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Less milk - That translates into 12.6 gallons a year, or about 4.8 oz a day, which is about half of a glass.

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Less milk, more cheese - On the other hand, we’re eating a lot more cheese. The average American eats about 22 lbs of cheese a year, nearly three times the average annual consumption in 1970.

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Less milk, more yogurt - While Americans consumed a negligible amount of yogurt in the 1970s, we now consume 1.2 gallons per person per year in 2014—a 1,700% increase.

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Yogurt trend - The reasons for this trend are likely varied. But one aspect of this phenomenon noticed by researchers is that yogurt is far more popular among women. This connection is likely related to advertising techniques. Most yogurt commercials seem to be geared toward women, promoting it as a healthy food that assists in the digestive process.

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Corn intake is up - The average American consumes 14 lbs of corn a year, up from less than 5 lbs in 1970.

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Corn and its derivatives - One of the ways in which our corn consumption has exploded is through corn-sourced sweeteners, which have become extremely popular.

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Speaking of sweeteners... - We’ve increased our sugar and sweetener consumption exponentially. In 2014, the average person consumed 77 lbs of “added caloric sweeteners” a year, which translates into roughly 23 tsp per day.

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Sugars - On the other hand, our sugar consumption has decreased in the past couple of decades. In 1999, the average American consumed more than 90 lbs of added caloric sweeteners a year, or 26.7 tsp a day.

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Sugars vs. sweeteners - While most of the sweeteners consumed in 1970 were refined sugar, the market is now almost evenly split between sugar and corn-derived sweeteners, such as high-fructose corn syrup.

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Fruits and vegetables - In 2010, fruits and veggies made up about 8% of our daily calories, while this group represented more than 9.2% of our daily diets in the 1970s.

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Leafy greens - On the other hand, we eat more dark green, leafy vegetables today than we did in the 1970s. The number increased from nearly zero to about 0.25 oz each day.

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Spuds - The average American eats less potato-based dishes today compared to the 1970s.

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Legumes, nuts, and soy - Today, this group accounts for almost 100 daily calories in our diets, while the number was just over 50 in the 1970s.

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We eat less eggs - Overall, the average American consumes less calories from eggs than they did in the 1970s, but the trend is changing. The medical opinion regarding eggs has changed considerably since the 1990s, and consumers' opinions about eggs are much more positive than they were 10 years ago.

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But we pay more attention to food today - 54% of interviewees said Americans pay more attention to eating healthy foods today compared to 20 years ago.

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But that doesn’t mean we’re actually eating better - 54% of interviewees also believe Americans’ actual eating habits are less healthy today than they were 20 years ago.

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Americans feel they need to eat better - 73% of interviewees said they were very or fairly focused on healthy and nutritious eating, while 58% said that they probably should be eating healthier for the most part.

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