Study says most of Americans' diet is junk food

NBC News reported that the study, published Wednesday, contains data that explains why many Americans are overweight and why rates of heart disease and diabetes are increasing.

The report comes from Eurídice Martínez Steele, Larissa Galastri Baraldi, Maria Laura da Costa Louzada, Jean-Claude Moubarac and Carlos Augusto Monteiro of the University of São Paulo and  Dariush Mozaffarian of Tufts University in Boston.

The study determined that 57.9 percent of energy intake, or food consumed, was from ultra-processed foods.

Ultra-processed foods were defined in the study as "industrial formulations which, besides salt, sugar, oils and fats, include substances not used in culinary preparation."

These also include manufactured additives and flavorings that are created to mimic tastes of "real foods."

"The most common ultra-processed foods in terms of energy contribution were breads; soft drinks, fruit drinks and milk-based drinks; cakes, cookies and pies; salty snacks; frozen and shelf-stable plates; pizza and breakfast cereals," the researchers said in the report.

"We confirmed the excessive consumption of added sugars in the USA," the report said.

"We also provide new evidence that ultra-processed foods represent more than half of all calories in the U.S. diet, and contribute nearly 90 percent of all added sugars."

The researchers concluded that cutting back on eating ultra-processed foods may be an effective way of lowering excessive added sugar intake.