A government study has found that it is very difficult to find healthy food in the US grocery stores. The survey found that less than half of packaged grocery-store products in most of the food categories met the Food and Drug Administration requirements of being labeled as ‘healthy food’.

The findings published in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease may be able to explain as to why more than 90% of Americans eat more sodium than recommended.

“More than 70 percent of pizzas, pasta mixed dishes, and meat mixed dishes and 50 percent to 70 percent of cold cuts, soups, and sandwiches exceeded FDA ‘healthy’ labeling standards for sodium, whereas less than 10 percent of breads, savory snacks, and cheeses did”, affirmed Linda Schieb, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The research team used sodium content to find out which food items are healthy. Schieb’s team said that sodium is a good marker for foods that are unhealthy in a number of ways. The researchers said that they did not find much difference, as grocery stores were packed with unhealthy options.

At the end, it can be said that Americans are buying the unhealthy options. The researchers have gone through the sales in 2009 from grocery stores in the three US Census regions- the South Atlantic, East North Central, and Pacific.

In all the divisions, half or more than that of the products sold in most of the food categories had more sodium content per-serving conditions to be categorized for a healthy food. Guidelines from the FDA and US Department of Agriculture aim to encourage Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables and less of unhealthy stuff.

As per the American Heart Association, people should aim to eat 2,300 milligrams of salt or less a day.