Trends in Dietary Quality Among Adults in the United States, 1999 Through 2010

TLDR: Although a steady improvement in AHEI-2010 was observed across the 12-year period, the overall dietary quality remains poor and the gap between low and high socioeconomic status widened with time.

Abstract: Importance Many changes in the economy, policies related to nutrition, and food processing have occurred within the United States since 2000, and the net effect on dietary quality is not clear. These changes may have affected various socioeconomic groups differentially. Objective To investigate trends in dietary quality from 1999 to 2010 in the US adult population and within socioeconomic subgroups. Design, Setting, and Participants Nationally representative sample of 29 124 adults aged 20 to 85 years from the US 1999 to 2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Main Outcomes and Measures The Alternate Healthy Eating Index 2010 (AHEI-2010), an 11-dimension score (range, 0-10 for each component score and 0-110 for the total score), was used to measure dietary quality. A higher AHEI-2010 score indicated a more healthful diet. Results The energy-adjusted mean of the AHEI-2010 increased from 39.9 in 1999 to 2000 to 46.8 in 2009 to 2010 (linear trendP  Conclusions and Relevance Although a steady improvement in AHEI-2010 was observed across the 12-year period, the overall dietary quality remains poor. Better dietary quality was associated with higher socioeconomic status, and the gap widened with time. Future efforts to improve nutrition should address these disparities.