Method for assessing food intakes in terms of servings based on food guidance.

We describe a method for comparing food intakes reported in surveys with recommendations given in the US Department of Agriculture's food guide pyramid. Such comparison was previously difficult because many foods are eaten as mixtures that cannot be categorized into pyramid food groups and because food intake data and food recommendations are expressed in different units of measurement. We developed a recipe file showing ingredients at multiple levels of breakdown and used it to disaggregate food mixtures into their ingredients so that they could be placed into pyramid food groups. Food-specific weight consistent with the pyramid definitions for serving sizes were derived from the food code book of the 1989-1991 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals and used to develop a serving-weight file. Data collected from 8181 adults aged > or = 20 y in the survey were used to estimate the mean number of servings from pyramid food groups and percentages of the population meeting pyramid recommendations. The mean numbers of servings were close to the minimum recommendations for the grain, vegetable, and meat groups and well below the minimum recommendations for the fruit and dairy groups. large proportions of adults (43-72%) failed to meet the dietary recommendations. Our method has several nutrition monitoring and nutrition education applications.

Characterizing food intake patterns of American adults.

Food-pattern analysis provides a way to examine diets in a multidimensional context. This study examined the diets of 8181 adults in the 1989-1991 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals and evaluated whether they met the federal recommendations for each of five food groups. The sample was partitioned among 32 different food-intake patterns, six of which represented 44% of the population. Nutrient profiles associated with each of the patterns indicated that failure to meet one or more of the food-group recommendations was associated with nutrient inadequacy, macronutrient imbalance, or both. A reexamination of the data to account for low energy reporters did not alter these findings. The pattern of meeting all five of the food-group recommendations was among the least common, accounting for only 1% of adults' intakes.

Food intakes of US children and adolescents compared with recommendations.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the proportion of youth meeting national recommendations for food group intake and to identify food intake patterns. DESIGN: The US Department of Agriculture's 1989-1991 Continuing Surveys of Food Intakes by Individuals were used to estimate food intake. Intake was determined from 3 days of diet by disaggregating foods into their component ingredients and using weights that correspond to servings. PARTICIPANTS: The sample included 3307 youth, 2 to 19 years of age, living in the 48 conterminous United States. Main Outcome Measures. Mean number of servings and percentage of individuals meeting national recommendations for food group intake according to demographic characteristics, patterns of intake, and nutrient profiles associated with each pattern. RESULTS: Mean numbers of servings per day were below minimum recommendations for all food groups except the dairy group (ages 2 to 11). Percentages of youth meeting recommendations ranged from approximately 30% for fruit, grain, meat, and dairy to 36% for vegetables. Sixteen percent of youth did not meet any recommendations, and 1% met all recommendations. The pattern of meeting all recommendations resulted in nutrient intakes above the recommended dietary allowances and was high in fat. Conversely, meeting none of the recommendations resulted in intakes well below the recommended dietary allowances for some nutrients. Total fat and added sugars averaged 35% and 15% of energy, respectively, and levels were similar among most demographic groups. CONCLUSION: Children and teens in the United States follow eating patterns that do not meet national recommendations. Nutrition education and intervention are needed among US children.

Method for identifying differences between existing food intake patterns and patterns that meet nutrition recommendations.

This article describes a mathematical model that takes an existing food intake pattern and develops a new pattern that meets a specified set of nutrition recommendations with the minimum change possible. The model examines multiple recommendations simultaneously and considers foods as they are currently eaten, so it can provide practitioners with new insights about strategies for implementing recommendations. The model shows serving units per day by food group in both existing and new intake patterns and the recommendations responsible for changes. Recommendations of the National Research Council are used, and sodium-restricted (< or = 2,400 mg) and sodium-unrestricted patterns are compared. Food intake data are from 915 nonpregnant, nonlactating women 19 to 50 years old who participated in the US Department of Agriculture's 1985 Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals. The sodium-restricted pattern contains proportionately more dairy products, fruit, and red meat and proportionately less grain products, fish, and vegetables than the unrestricted-sodium pattern. Nutrition recommendations responsible for changes in the existing pattern include those for saturated fatty acids (< 10% kcal), carbohydrate (> or = 55% kcal), zinc (100% of Recommended Dietary Allowance [RDA]), potassium (> or = 3,500 mg/day), and vitamin E (100% RDA), in addition to sodium. Implications of the sodium recommendation for food selection and preparation, especially of food mixtures and commercially prepared products, are discussed.

Low energy reporters vs others: a comparison of reported food intakes.

OBJECTIVE: To partition the food reports of low energy reporters (LERs) and non-LERs into four aspects-tendency to report a given food, frequency of reports per user, portion sizes per mention, and the qualitative (low-fat, low-sugar, low-energy) differences of the reports-in order to determine what differentiates them from one another. ASSESSMENT METHOD: Two non-consecutive 24h dietary recalls. Low energy reporting was defined as energy intake lower than 80% of estimated basal metabolic rate. SETTING: In-home personal interviews. SUBJECTS: 8334 adults from a stratified, multi-stage area probability sample designed to be representative of noninstitutionlized persons residing in households in the United States. RESULTS: Across all different types of foods, there are those food groups which LERs are less likely to report (28 of 44 food groups), those which they report less frequently when they do report them (15 of 44 groups), and those for which they report smaller quantities per mention (26 of 44). Qualitative differences in the food choices-that is, differences in fat, sugar, and/or energy content-were not so widespread (4 of 24 food groups). CONCLUSIONS: The practical application of analyses such as these is to improve the methods of gathering dietary data so that this kind of bias can be reduced. Further methodological research is needed to reduce the likelihood of respondents neglecting to mention foods and underestimating portion sizes.

Dietary intake of whole grains.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to provide national estimates of whole-grain intake in the United States, identify major dietary sources of whole grains and compare food and nutrient intakes of whole-grain consumers and nonconsumers. METHODS: Data were collected from 9,323 individuals age 20 years and older in USDA's 1994-96 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals through in-person interviews on two non-consecutive days using a multiple-pass 24-hour recall method. Foods reported by respondents were quantified in servings as defined by the Food Guide Pyramid using a new database developed by the USDA. Whole-grain and nonwhole-grain servings were determined based on the proportion, by weight, of the grain ingredients in each food that were whole grain and nonwhole grain. Sampling weights were applied to provide national probability estimates adjusted for differential rates of selection and nonresponse. Then, t tests were used to assess statistically significant differences in intakes of nutrients and food groups by whole-grain consumers and nonconsumers. RESULTS: According to the 1994-96 survey, U.S. adults consumed an average of 6.7 servings of grain products per day; 1.0 serving was whole grain. Thirty-six percent averaged less than one whole-grain serving per day based on two days of intake data, and only eight percent met the recommendation to eat at least three servings per day. Yeast breads and breakfast cereals each provided almost one-third of the whole-grain servings, grain-based snacks provided about one-fifth, and less than one-tenth came from quick breads, pasta, rice, cakes, cookies, pies, pastries and miscellaneous grains. Whole-grain consumers had significantly better nutrient profiles than nonconsumers, including higher intakes of vitamins and minerals as percentages of 1989 Recommended Dietary Allowances and as nutrients per 1,000 kilocalories, and lower intakes of total fat, saturated fat and added sugars as percentages of food energy. Consumers were significantly more likely than nonconsumers to meet Pyramid recommendations for the grain, fruit and dairy food groups. CONCLUSION: Consumption of whole-grain foods by U.S. adults falls well below the recommended level. A large proportion of the population could benefit from eating more whole grain, and efforts are needed to encourage consumption.