Contributions of food groups to intakes of energy, nutrients, cholesterol, and fiber in women’s diets: Effect of method of classifying food mixtures

Abstract

This study examined the effect of using two different methods for categorizing food mixtures when calculating the contribution of various food groups to energy, macronutrient, cholesterol, and fiber intakes. Using method 1, each food mixture was classified as a single item and assigned to a food group according to its main ingredient. Using method 2, most of the food mixtures were separated into their constituent ingredients, and each ingredient was assigned to its appropriate food group. Data were from 1,032 women who provided at least 4 days of dietary data in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 1985 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals. We found that the importance of each food group's contribution to individual dietary components varied depending on the method used to categorize the food mixtures. When food mixtures were separated into their constituent ingredients before assigning foods to food groups, the contributions of meat, fish, poultry, and grain products declined for each of the seven dietary components studied. At the same time, the contributions of milk products, fats, and oils increased for most of the seven components. The results highlight the importance of foods eaten as part of food mixtures to the intake of energy, macronutrients, cholesterol, and fiber.