OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine dietary quality, as assessed via the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), by demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related characteristics among emerging adults (18-23 y) in the United States who participated in the 2015-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
METHODS: NHANES data were collected via a household interview and 2 24-h dietary recalls (24HR). Usual dietary intakes from the 24HRs were approximated using the multivariate National Cancer Institute Method to compute mean HEI-2015 overall and component scores (range: 0-100; higher scores indicating higher dietary quality).
RESULTS: Overall dietary quality among emerging adults (HEI-2015: 50.3 ± 1.3) was significantly lower than other adults (≥24 y) (HEI-2015: 56.3 ± 0.5; P < 0.0001) in the United States, with differences primarily driven by lower intakes of whole fruit, vegetables, and whole grains and higher intakes of sodium, refined grains, and saturated fat. Few differences in HEI-2015 scores were noted across population subgroups by sex, food security, family income, and food assistance program participation, except for added sugar; intakes of added sugar were significantly higher among women, food insecure, and food assistance program participants than those in their counterparts, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: Dietary quality is poor among emerging adults in the United States and persists across all population subgroups, suggesting a significant need for tailored public health interventions to improve dietary quality among this population. Future research investigating to what extent emerging adults prioritize healthful behaviors and exploring other indicators for identifying nutritionally vulnerable subgroups may be impactful for identifying disparities among this life stage.
目的:为了检查膳食质量,通过健康饮食指数(HEI)评估,按人口统计,社会经济,以及参加2015-2018年全国健康和营养检查调查(NHANES)的美国新兴成年人(18-23岁)的健康相关特征。
方法:NHANES数据是通过家庭访谈和2次24小时饮食回顾(24HR)收集的。使用多变量国家癌症研究所方法来计算平均HEI-2015总体和组分得分(范围0-100,较高的得分表明较高的饮食质量),对来自24HRs的通常饮食摄入量进行近似。
结果:美国新兴成年人的总体饮食质量[HEI-2015:50.3±1.3]显着低于其他美国成年人(≥24y)[HEI-2015:56.3±0.5;p<0.0001],差异主要是由于整个水果的摄入量较低,蔬菜,和全谷物,和更高的钠摄入量,精制谷物,饱和脂肪在按性别划分的人口亚组中,HEI-2015评分几乎没有差异,粮食安全,家庭收入,和粮食援助计划的参与,除了添加糖,女性的添加糖摄入量明显较高,粮食不安全,与食品援助计划参与者相比,分别。
结论:美国新兴成年人的饮食质量较差,并且在所有人群亚组中都持续存在。这表明需要有针对性的公共卫生干预措施来改善该人群的饮食质量。未来的研究调查新兴成年人在多大程度上优先考虑健康行为,并探索其他指标来识别营养脆弱的亚组,可能对识别这一生命阶段之间的差异有影响。