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Effect of Meeting the Healthy People 2020 Objectives on Diet Quality Relative to Current Trends
Author(s) -
Wilson Magdalena,
Reedy Jill,
KrebsSmith Susan
Publication year - 2015
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.29.1_supplement.384.1
Subject(s) - medicine , national health and nutrition examination survey , population , calorie , healthy eating , environmental health , demography , gerontology , physical activity , physical therapy , sociology , endocrinology
The Healthy Eating Index 2010 (HEI‐2010) was designed to measure diet quality, based on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In 2010 the US Department of Health and Human Services set the national Healthy People (HP) 2020 objectives aimed at health promotion and disease prevention. Targets for these national objectives are set to be “challenging yet achievable,” and correspond to the following components of the HEI‐2010: total fruit, total vegetables, greens and beans, whole grains, sodium, and empty calories. This analysis estimated the mean HEI‐2010 score of the US population if the six HP 2020 objectives were met, and how much the current trajectory in dietary quality would need to change in order to meet those objectives. We estimated the population HEI‐2010 total and component scores using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) sample ages 2+ from 1999/2000 to 2009/2010. To estimate the HEI‐2010 score if the objectives were met, we compared the targets for each of the objectives (e.g. 0.9 cup equiv. per 1000 kcal for total fruit) to the relevant HEI‐2010 component standard (e.g. <0.8 cup equiv. per 1000 kcal for total fruit) to create a score for each component. For those components without a relevant HP 2020 standard, we imputed the value from the 2009/2010 NHANES. The overall diet quality of the US population increased gradually over the decade. If that trajectory continues, by the year 2020 the mean HEI‐2010 score will be about 74 out of 100. However, if the population met all of the HP 2020 goals, Americans could reach a mean HEI‐2010 score of about 79. This 5 point difference represents the shift in dietary quality required to meet the HP 2020 objectives. A more ambitious goal of achieving near‐optimal average HEI‐2010 scores would require more drastic shifts in consumption.