Food and nutrition costs The impact of the current food system on non-farming families, the urban consumer, is not so direct, but equally insidious. The literature from the USA provides a comprehensive illustration of the disturbing intermediate outcomes of the globalised food system for food and nutrition. The estimated average adult energy intake in the USA in the 1970s was 10?07 MJ/d, but by the turn of the century this had increased to 12?16 MJ/d
(47)
. Between 1970 and 1996, there was a 22 % increase in the amount of fats and oils in the food supply, and a 23 % increase in consumption of sugars and sweeteners
(48)
. High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a cheaper alternative to sucrose, now represents 40 % of caloric sweeteners in food and beverages following a 1000 % increase in its consumption between 1967 and 1990
(49)
. A diet high in HFCS may actually encourage overconsumption through mechanisms that cause a reduction in insulin and leptin release, hormones that inhibit food intake, which may be contributing to rising obesity levels
(49)
. Over the last decade, there has been a doubling of the number of fast-food restaurants in the USA
(50)
and sales through restaurants are expected to reach $US 604 billion in 2011, representing a 14-fold increase since the 1970s
. In a recent study, 30 % of an adolescent sample reported eating fast foods on a typical day and those who consumed fast foods had higher energy and total fat intakes, drank more sweetened beverages but less milk, and ate fewer fruits and non-starchy vegetables than those who did not consume fast food
. Energy-dense fast foods may also undermine people’s normal satiety mechanism and induce passive overconsumption