Study Confirms: We Really Love Pizza

by Cristina Goyanes for SHAPE.com

As if you really needed a study-let alone one conducted by the government using your money-to prove just how much you love pizza, here it is: A new federally-funded reportanalyzed the consumption of pizza among U.S. children and adults between 2007 and 2010, and found some unsurprising results, including that 1 in 8 Americans eat pizza on any given day. That means in a yoga class of 24, three of you are thinking about picking up a slice afterward. What may be making it harder to resist those Italian-inspired doughy discs drenched in cheesy goodness and tomato sauce is that your guy is downing 'em as if his name were Little Caesar. The study found that more men (15 percent) consume pizza on any given day than women (11 percent). And your mom and grandma-that is, women age 60 or older-were the least likely to have the pizza delivery man on speed-dial. Here's a closer look at our cheese-and-carb-obsession by the numbers:
-1 slice of a medium cheese pizza ranged 220 to 370 calories. The average adult consumes 744 calories of pizza in a sitting.
-On the day consumed, pizza provided approximately 27 percent of total energy.
-Adults consume a mean sodium intake obtained from pizza of 1,599mg. (And we're supposed to max out at no more than 2,300mg daily.)
-Pizza contributes 34 percent of adults' daily total fat.
-Most adult pizza consumption occurs in the home and generally at dinner. Any way you slice it, we can't get enough of this stuff. The next time you have a craving, we have healthy recipes to bake at home. Vegan or not, everyone loves these cheese-free pizzas so good you won't miss the cheese. Really, they're topped with such delicious vegetables, sauces, and spices, you don't want to hide all of that under cheese. Can't give up the dairy? These 10 healthy pizza recipes provide all the gooey goodness without a ton of calories. Watch a pro teach you how to make Sorrentina pizza, which is cheese pizza with lemon. Tangy citrus plus sweet mozzarella equals oh yum! The hot coals of an outdoor grill impart a traditional wood-fired flavor to pizza that a typical oven can't recreate, so bust out your grill pan or, if you live where it's warm, fire up the real thing and make grilled mushroom and leek flatbread pizza.

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