Healthy eating index

The Healthy Eating Index is estimated to reach 61.9% in 2025, reflecting ongoing pressures on diet quality in the United States. Despite growing public health initiatives and awareness of nutrition-related diseases, diets are affected by the prevalence of processed snack foods and fast food options. Elevated food prices, especially for fruits and vegetables, remain a major barrier to healthy eating, contributing to sustained declines in the index in recent years. Aggressive marketing and a variety of unhealthy products have also driven consumer preference for less nutritious options.

Between 2020 and 2025, the index declined by 3.0 percentage points, from 64.9% to an estimated 61.9%. This trend is attributed to multiple factors, including volatile produce prices due to adverse weather in regions like Florida and the Midwest. Rising costs led consumers to reduce fruit and vegetable intake. Additionally, spikes in grain prices, driven by demand for plant-based biofuels, increased overall food costs, steering consumers toward affordable, less nutritious options. The COVID-19 pandemic also influenced eating patterns, as remote work and limited access to healthy foods increased snacking and processed food consumption. Although restrictions eased post-2021, snack foods remained popular due to product innovation and advertising.

Countervailing factors have limited the index's decline. Public health awareness efforts educated consumers about high sugar and fat intake risks, prompting reductions in corn syrup consumption. The adoption of low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets influenced habits, increasing meat demand. However, these categories already had high consumption levels, producing a mixed impact on dietary health.

Over the years to 2025, changing consumer preferences, food price inflation, weather events, and pandemic disruptions led to a reduction in the Healthy Eating Index. While efforts to promote healthier lifestyles persisted, they were largely offset by macroeconomic and social trends favoring unhealthy foods.