People are eating more vegetables, fish, chicken and whole-grain foods, while decreasing the amount of foods they eat containing trans fats, according to the American Dietetic Association’s public opinion survey “Nutrition and You: Trends 2011.”

Respondents were asked if their consumption of several different foods had gone up, down or stayed the same over the past five years.

For the most part, people said their consumption in the past five years stayed the same for the following foods: dairy products (61%), pork (52%), beef (49%), chicken (49%), fruits (48%), vegetables (45%), whole-grain foods (45%) and fish (42%).

Respondents said they had increased their consumption of: vegetables (49%), whole-grain foods (48%), fish (46%) and chicken (44%).

Each of the findings is consistent with the results of ADA’s last survey in 2008.

“It is good news to see that people continue to eat more vegetables, whole grains and fruits,” said Jeannie Gazzaniga-Moloo, registered dietitian and ADA spokeswoman.

Asked if they had decreased consumption of any of the foods on the list, respondents said they had cut back on: beef (39%), pork (35%) and dairy products (22%).

In 2008, 49% of respondents said their beef consumption had dropped in the past five years; 54% for pork; and 62% for dairy products.

“Cutbacks on pork, beef and dairy may reflect movement toward lower overall consumption of saturated fat; however, cutting back particularly on dairy can also reduce people’s intake of calcium and vitamin D,” said Ms. Gazzaniga-Moloo.

Respondents to ADA’s survey were also asked whether in the past five years they had increased or decreased consumption of a number of foods and nutrients that have received substantial public and scientific attention: berries, low-fat foods, omega 3 fatty acids, low-sugar foods, low-sodium foods, low-carbohydrate foods, alternative sweeteners, probiotics, soy-based products or foods, gluten-free foods, foods containing trans fats and allergen-free foods.

Respondents said they were most likely to have increased consumption in the past five years of:

• Berries (48%)
• Low-fat foods (43%)
• Omega 3 fatty acids (39%)
• Low-sugar foods (34%)
• Low-sodium foods (31%)

The popularity of those foods—and the percentage of Americans who said they increased consumption of them—remained virtually unchanged since 2008.

“We are seeing single foods, such as berries and fish, growing in consumption,” said Gazzaniga-Moloo. “For many people, they are an easy fix for better health—consumers feel better if they ar doing something without really having to engage in major behavior changes or delving into emotional reasons for eating.”

Foods or nutrients of which consumers were least likely to increase consumption were gluten-free foods (9%); foods containing trans fat (8%) and allergen-free foods (4%).

“Given the attention focused on the health effects of sodium this past year, especially with the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ recommendations and other sodium-reduction initiatives, it is surprising that only 31% of those surveyed said they increased their consumption of low-sodium foods,” said Ms. Gazzaniga-Moloo. “With the average American consuming twice the daily recommended amount of sodium, this reflects the challenges we face in moving consumers to lower their sodium intake.”

Similar to the findings of ADA’s 2008 survey, respondents to the 2011 survey said they are most likely to have decreased their consumption of foods containing trans fat (51%), followed by low-sodium foods (21%); low-sugar foods (20%); low-fat foods (17%); soy-based foods (16%); and low-carbohydrate foods (14%).