A Project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Nutrition Habits of U.S. High School Students

Updated June 2018: In recent years, there has been a decline in daily soda consumption among high school students, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). The YRBSS is a biannual measure of self-reported health behaviors among U.S. high school students released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The most recent data reveal that among U.S. high school students, 18.7% drank soda at least once a day in 2017, down from 20.4% in 2015 and 27 in 2013. The 2017 data also show that 5.6% did not regularly consume fruits, 7.2% did not regularly consume vegetables and 14.1% did not eat breakfast during the week before the survey.

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1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017

United States 2017

High Soda Consumption

Students who drank one or more cans, bottles or glasses of soda daily (not counting diet soda or diet pop) for the seven days before the survey)

No Breakfast

High school students who did not eat breakfast during the seven days before the survey

Low Fruit Consumption

Students who did not eat fruit or drink 100% fruit juices during the seven days before the survey

Low Vegetable Consumption

Students who did not eat vegetables (green salad, potatoes — excluding French fries, fried potatoes and potato chips — carrots or other vegetables) during the seven days before the survey

* Race/ethnicity data for individual states are not shown due to small sample sizes in the population. Note: The CDC uses the term Hispanic in their analysis. All races are non-Hispanic.