CDC blames carbs in battle of bulge

ATLANTA -- Americans, especially women, are consuming far more calories than they did three decades ago, and the increasingly dreaded carbohydrate food group is to blame, according to a federal study released yesterday.

The finding, revealed in a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comes amid repeated government warnings of a growing obesity epidemic in the nation as well as an explosion in the popularity of low-carbohydrate diets.

Obesity, which increases the likelihood of heart disease, diabetes, some types of cancer, and arthritis, has become twice as common in the nation since 1980. About 39 million Americans were obese in 2000, according to the US government.

CDC researchers found that women between the ages of 20 and 74 consumed an average 1,877 calories per day in 2000, 22 percent more than in 1971. The average intake for males in the same age group was up 8 percent to 2,618 calories in 2000.

The percentage of daily calories that came from carbohydrates, which include rice, bread, and pasta, rose to 51.6 percent from 45.4 percent in women and to 49 percent from 42.4 percent in men during the period.

The study did not examine the reasons for the increase in carbohydrate intake, though the CDC noted that previous research had linked it to consumption of pizza, salty snacks, and takeout foods, as well as bigger portions.

Jacqueline Wright, lead author of the study, noted that the findings should not be seen as supporting low-carbohydrate diets.