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Consumption of foods that meet the American Heart Association Heart‐Check Program is associated with better diet quality and lower cardiovascular disease risk
Author(s) -
Fulgoni Victor L,
Carson JAS,
Johnson RK,
Kris-Etherton PM,
Lichtenstein AH,
Stitzel KF
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.267.2
Subject(s) - quartile , medicine , overweight , body mass index , food group , environmental health , obesity , logistic regression , blood pressure , national health and nutrition examination survey , food science , zoology , biology , confidence interval , population
The American Heart Association administers the Heart‐Check Program (HCP) which places a heart icon on food packages based on specific nutritional criteria. We evaluated the association of consuming foods that meet the HCP criteria with overall diet quality, food group/nutrient intakes, body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003–2006. Adult (19+ yrs) participants were stratified into quartiles based on % energy consumed from HCP foods (≤6.3% energy in the lowest and ≥22.2% in the highest quartile). Regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between consuming HCP foods and diet quality (Healthy Eating Index), food group/nutrient intakes, and physiological parameters while logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess relationship with CVD risk factors. Diet quality was higher in consumers of HCP foods versus non‐consumers (41.0 ± 0.5 vs 52.8 ± 0.3, p<0.01). Diet quality was also positively (p<0.01) related to % energy from HCP foods. Saturated fat (p<0.01), added sugars (p<0.01), and sodium (p<0.02) intake were all inversely related to % energy from HCP foods while total fruit (p<0.01) and total vegetable (p<0.01) intake were positively related. BMI and risk of being overweight or obese were inversely related to the % of energy from HCP foods (both (p<0.01). The risk of high blood pressure was lower (p<0.01) as the % energy from HCP foods increased. These data demonstrate that a greater consumption (as % total energy) of foods that meet HCP is associated with better diet quality, BMI and blood pressure. Supported by the American Heart Association.