Open AccessThe WELL diet score correlates with the alternative healthy eating index‐2010
Author(s) -
Springfield Sparkle,
Cunanan Kristen,
Heaney Catherine,
Peng Katy,
Gardner Christopher
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
food science and nutrition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.614
H-Index - 27
ISSN - 2048-7177
DOI - 10.1002/fsn3.1558
Subject(s) - healthy eating , food frequency questionnaire , medicine , healthy diet , physical activity , gerontology , environmental health , demography , physical therapy , food science , biology , sociology
The quality of one's overall diet has proven to be of great importance to health and well‐being. Unfortunately, diet quality is time‐consuming to assess. The Stanford Wellness Living Laboratory (WELL) administered an online survey that included the WELL Diet Score (a novel diet quality assessment calculated from 12 diet‐related items). Subsequently, WELL participants were asked to complete the 127‐item Block Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) online. The present study's primary objective was to compare the WELL Diet Score with the established FFQ‐based Alternative Healthy Eating Index‐2010 (AHEI‐2010), in a subset of WELL participants ( n = 248) who completed both dietary measures through WELL’s online platform. The two scores were significantly correlated ( r = .69; p < .0001). Regression analyses demonstrated that the WELL Diet Score was positively significantly associated with sociodemographic determinants of diet quality and protective health factors, including older age, higher education, lower BMI, and higher physical activity. In summary, the WELL Diet Score, derived from 12 small diet‐related items that can be completed in 5 min, was significantly positively correlated with the AHEI‐2010 derived from the lengthy 127‐item FFQ, suggesting the potential utility of the WELL Diet Score in future large‐scale studies, including future WELL studies.