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ISSN 0973 - 0958
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NUTRITION IN CHILDREN
DIET QUALITY OF PRESCHOOLERS IN GREECE BASED ON THE HEALTHY EATING INDEX: THE GENESIS STUDY
Source: J Am Diet Assoc. 2009 Apr;109(4):616-23
The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) was designed to assess diet quality in people aged 2 years and older. The HEI score is the sum of individual scores for 10 food components. The first five components measure the degree of compliance of people's diet with the US Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid recommendations for grains, vegetables, fruit, dairy, and meat as expressed in servings per day. The next four components of the HEI assess the degree of adherence to Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations regarding several nutrients (e.g., total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium intakes). The final component examines the variety of foods in a person's diet. The score for each component is divided into three categories as follows: score<5 (poor diet), score between 5 and 8 (diet needs improvement), and score >8 (good diet). An HEI score >80 implies a "good" diet a score between 50 and 80 indicates a diet needs improvement, and a score lower than 50 indicates a "poor" diet.
The current study aimed to assess the diet quality of preschoolers using HEI score and the potential role of several sociodemographic factors related to it. In this study, 2,518 children aged 1 to 5 years were enrolled between April 2003 and July 2004. This cohort was recruited from a representative sample of randomly selected public and private nurseries as well as daycare centers, the final sample is representative of 70% of country's population with proportions of children 12 to 23, 25 to 35, 36 to 47 and 48 to 60 months old being 8.7%, 21.7%, 38.8%, and 31.4%, respectively. Dietary intake data was obtained for 2 consecutive weekdays and 1 weekend day using a combination of techniques comprising the weighed food records (during nursery hours) and 24-hour recall or food diaries (outside nurseries). Eighty percent of participants had an HEI score <50 (ie, "poor" diet), 0.4% had an HEI score >80 (ie, "good" diet), and the overall mean HEI score was 59. HEI score was also found to be strongly associated with several macronutrient and micronutrient intakes.
Conclusion: The majority of preschoolers had a poor diet and extremely low vegetable intake and excessive consumption of saturated fat. These findings highlight the need to improve diet quality in preschool children.
The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) was designed to assess diet quality in people aged 2 years and older. The HEI score is the sum of individual scores for 10 food components. The first five components measure the degree of compliance of people's diet with the US Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid recommendations for grains, vegetables, fruit, dairy, and meat as expressed in servings per day. The next four components of the HEI assess the degree of adherence to Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations regarding several nutrients (e.g., total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium intakes). The final component examines the variety of foods in a person's diet. The score for each component is divided into three categories as follows: score<5 (poor diet), score between 5 and 8 (diet needs improvement), and score >8 (good diet). An HEI score >80 implies a "good" diet a score between 50 and 80 indicates a diet needs improvement, and a score lower than 50 indicates a "poor" diet.
The current study aimed to assess the diet quality of preschoolers using HEI score and the potential role of several sociodemographic factors related to it. In this study, 2,518 children aged 1 to 5 years were enrolled between April 2003 and July 2004. This cohort was recruited from a representative sample of randomly selected public and private nurseries as well as daycare centers, the final sample is representative of 70% of country's population with proportions of children 12 to 23, 25 to 35, 36 to 47 and 48 to 60 months old being 8.7%, 21.7%, 38.8%, and 31.4%, respectively. Dietary intake data was obtained for 2 consecutive weekdays and 1 weekend day using a combination of techniques comprising the weighed food records (during nursery hours) and 24-hour recall or food diaries (outside nurseries). Eighty percent of participants had an HEI score <50 (ie, "poor" diet), 0.4% had an HEI score >80 (ie, "good" diet), and the overall mean HEI score was 59. HEI score was also found to be strongly associated with several macronutrient and micronutrient intakes.
Conclusion: The majority of preschoolers had a poor diet and extremely low vegetable intake and excessive consumption of saturated fat. These findings highlight the need to improve diet quality in preschool children.
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