LONDON (AP) — A new study finds the world is increasingly hungry for junk food, despite there being more fruit, vegetables and healthy options available than ever before
In survey of eating habits in nearly 190 countries, researchers found that even though people are eating more healthy foods including whole grains and fish, there has been an even bigger jump in the amount of junk food eaten.
Among the findings, older adults ate better than younger adults and women ate healthier diets than men.
There was a mixed picture in the U.S., with increases both in the amount of healthy and unhealthy foods eaten.
One of the study authors says while Westerners are among the biggest eaters of junk food, China and India are catching up and that governments should step in.
Mongolia had some of the best nutritional improvements.
But researchers found in some countries in Africa and Asia, there has been no improvement in their diet during the past 20 years.
The study was paid for by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Britain's Medical Research Council and was published online in the journal, Lancet Global Health, as part of an obesity series.
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