By their own report, Americans ate less healthfully last year than any time since 2008. A daily poll by Gallup and Healthways, totaling more than 150,000 adults over a years polling, asks whether respondents ate healthfully the previous day. Normally, healthful eating rises in January, dips a little in spring, rises in late summer and falls way off in the holiday months of November and December. But in 2013, the highs of healthy eating were lower and the lows were worse: Every month of the year saw a smaller percentage of Americans reporting healthful eating than the same month in 2012.
The survey doesnt define healthful eating. Another question, however, asks specifically about eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Except for March and October, fewer Americans met that target every month of 2013 than in 2012.