Government report highlights U.S. pizza consumption

WASHINGTON – Everyone loves pizza. And a new government report highlights just how much.

According to the new Department of Agriculture data, consumption of pizza in the United States is on the rise. But it’s not only in restaurants — the market for frozen pizza is growing as well.

However, pizza is also one of the top three sources for sodium in the American diet.

Here are some quick facts about pizza. Data was gathered between 2007 and 2010:

• On any given day, 13 percent of the population aged 2 years and over are eating pizza.
• Of those eating pizza, 22 percent are between the ages of 6 and 19.
• Adults aged 60 years or older eat less than 6 percent of the pizza.
• More men than women eat pizza on a given day with 15 percent vs. 11 percent.
• For adults, more white people ate pizza than black or Hispanic adults.
• The consumption of pizza by children didn’t vary by race.
• Pizza accounted for 33 percent and 38 percent of the daily sodium intake among children and adults respectively.

For the full report, click here.

WTOP’s Lacey Mason contributed to this report.