Americans' ton-a-year eating habit: By the numbers

You may feel like you've eaten a ton of food this holiday season. Well, over the entire course of 2011, you probably did. According to government data, the average American eats a literal ton of food each year, or about 2,700 calories each day — and an alarming proportion of that is sugar and other sweeteners. Here, a numerical look at the overindulgence:

1,996.3

Pounds of food the average American eats each year

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2,000

Pounds in a U.S. ton

190

Weight, in pounds, of the average American male

164

Weight, in pounds, of the average American female

632

Pounds of dairy products that a typical American eats each year

31.4

Pounds of those dairy products that are cheese

415.4

Pounds of vegetables that a typical American eats each year

22

Percentage of those vegetables that are tomatoes

30.6

Percentage of those vegetables that are potatoes

29

Pounds of those vegetables that are french fries

237.2

Pounds of fruit that a typical American eats each year, mostly oranges and apples

183.6

Pounds of meat and poultry that a typical American eats each year

60.4

Pounds of that meat and poultry that are chicken

62.4

Pounds of that meat and poultry that are beef

16.1

Pounds of fish and shellfish that a typical American eats each year

85

Pounds of fat and oil that a typical American consumes each year

134.1

Pounds of wheat flour that a typical American eats each year

141.6

Pounds of sweeteners that a typical American consumes each year

53

Gallons of soda that a typical American drinks each year

Sources: Daily Mail, NPR, USDA, Visual Economics