Most Americans have been making efforts to eat healthier, 60% of the participants said they ate whole grains over refined grains. More than half also indicated that they were getting five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day - although this may also be a miscalculation of serving sizes.

59% said they were either "careful" or "strict" about the amount of their food. But of them, more than a third said that they did not control the intake of sweets or fats.

A CDC survey last year announced that only 26 percent of adults had vegetables at least three times per day.

According to healthy efforts, about 57% of the respondents were overweight or obese based on their body mass indexes, which was calculated from their self-reported height and weight.

Regardless of a Consumer Reports survey, Americans may be cheating themselves about healthy eating.

Almost 90% of 1,234 American adults surveyed said they were eating a “somewhat," "very," or "extremely" healthy food. Only 11% admitted their diet as “not very healthy” or “not healthy at all”.

This led Consumer Reports to wonder, “Are we cheating ourselves?”

The participants were being asked what vegetables they normally purchased at least once a week or more:

Lettuce or salad greens: 78%

Tomatoes: 71%

Carrots: 63%

Potatoes: 61%

Broccoli: 57%

When being asked why they didn’t eat more vegetables the answers were:

• I already eat a good amount I feel satisfied with: 66%
  
• Vegetables are not easy to keep fresh or they go bad quickly: 29%
  
• Someone else in my house does not like vegetables: 17%
  
• Vegetables are too pricy: 14%
  
• Vegetables don’t taste good: 13%

This survey was finished in November 2010 and the author considers the answers may be varied by seasons.