Of the 9,500 participants surveyed, about 85% had an inaccurate assessment of food quality.
New studies show that American adults often overestimate the quality of their diet
Is your diet healthy? It sounds like a simple question, but recent research shows that most Americans can’t answer it correctly.
“We have found that only a small percentage of adults in the United States can accurately assess their dietary health. Interestingly, those who can accurately assess their diet are most likely those who feel their diet is poor. “Dr. Jessica Thomson said. , A research epidemiologist at the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Services in the Southeastern region, the lead author of her research. “In addition, most adults overestimate the quality of their diet, sometimes to a large extent.”
Thomson presented the findings at NUTRITION 2022 LIVE ONLINE, the flagship annual meeting of the American Society of Nutrition, held June 14-16.
Average dietary quality evaluated by researchers (100 is the highest possible score) in a group of participants who accurately assessed dietary quality. For participants who accurately assessed their dietary health, their diet increased as their perception of the diet increased from bad to superior to the overall dietary quality (total healthy diet index). Quality score increased. [HEI] Score) and vegetables, fruits, sodium, and dietary additive sugar components. However, the same pattern of increase was not present in the dairy ingredients of the diet.Credits: Dr. Jessica Thomson, Research Epidemiologist at USDA Agricultural Research Services
The purpose of this study was to determine if a single simple question would be useful as an alternative or in addition to the comprehensive dietary questionnaire often used in nutritional studies as a screening tool for nutritional studies. Although self-assessed health has been demonstrated in previous studies to be a reliable indicator of morbidity and mortality, little is known about the relationship between self-assessed dietary quality and actual dietary quality. Is not …
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally representative survey of Americans twice a year, provided data for the study. Participants had to fill out a comprehensive 24-hour food recall form and rate their diet as excellent, very good, good, normal, or bad.
The dietary quality of each participant was assessed by researchers using a dietary recall questionnaire. Fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, lean dairy products, seafood, and vegetable protein are examples of foods that have been rated healthier. Refined grains, high-salt diets, sugar additions, and saturated fats were among the foods considered to be nutritious.
For participants who inaccurately assessed their dietary health, the dietary quality score was based on overall dietary quality (total healthy dietary index) compared to the other four perceptual groups. In general, the poorly perceived group was higher. [HEI] Score) and dietary fruits, sodium, and added sugar ingredients. The same pattern was not present in the ingredients of vegetables and dairy products in the diet.Credits: Dr. Jessica Thomson, Research Epidemiologist at USDA Agricultural Research Services
The study found that there was a significant discontinuity between the scores calculated by the researchers and how participants ranked their diet. Of the more than 9,700 participants, about 8,000 (about 85%) inaccurately evaluated food quality. Almost all (99%) of them overestimated dietary health.
To my surprise[{” attribute=””>accuracy was highest among those who rated their diet as poor, among whom the researcher’s score matched the participant’s rating 97% of the time. The proportion of participants who accurately assessed their diet quality ranged from 1%-18% in the other four rating categories.
Thomson said further research could help to elucidate what factors people consider when asked to assess their diet quality. For instance, it would be helpful to know whether people are aware of particular dietary recommendations and whether they take into consideration where their food is purchased or how it is prepared.
“It’s difficult for us to say whether U.S. adults lack an accurate understanding of the components of a healthful versus unhealthful diet or whether adults perceive the healthfulness of their diet as they wish it to be—that is, higher in quality than it actually is,” said Thomson. “Until we have a better understanding of what individuals consider when assessing the healthfulness of their diet, it will be difficult to determine what knowledge and skills are necessary to improve self-assessment or perception of one’s diet quality.”
Meeting: NUTRITION 2022 LIVE ONLINE
