Abstract
The release of Canada's Food Guide (CFG) in 2019 by Health Canada prompted the development of indices to measure adherence to these updated dietary recommendations for Canadians. This study describes the development and scoring standards of the Healthy Eating Food Index (HEFI-2019), which is intended to measure alignment of eating patterns with CFG-2019 recommendations on food choices among Canadians aged 2 years and older. Alignment with the intent of each key recommendation in the CFG-2019 was the primary principle guiding the development of the HEFI-2019. Additional considerations included previously published indices, data on Canadians' dietary intakes from the 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey-Nutrition, and expert judgement. The HEFI-2019 includes 10 components: Vegetables and fruits (20 points), Whole-grain foods (5 points), Grain foods ratio (5 points), Protein foods (5 points), Plant-based protein foods (5 points), Beverages (10 points), Fatty acids ratio (5 points), Saturated fats (5 points), Free sugars (10 points), and Sodium (10 points). All components are expressed as ratios (e.g., proportions of total foods, total beverages, or total energy). The HEFI-2019 score has a maximum of 80 points. Potential uses of the HEFI-2019 include research as well as monitoring and surveillance of food choices in population-based surveys. Novelty: The Healthy Eating Food Index-2019 was developed to measure adherence to the 2019 Canada's Food Guide recommendations on healthy food choices. The HEFI-2019 includes 10 components, of which 5 are based on foods, 1 on beverages and 4 on nutrients, for a total of 80 points.
Highlights
Suboptimal dietary patterns are among the leading risk factors for morbidity and mortality in Canada (Alam et al, 2019) and worldwide
Dietary guidelines are often used as a reference by food services, government programs and the food industry to support the development of healthier food environments. 42 In 2019, Health Canada released an updated Canada’s Food Guide (CFG-2019) that promotes healthy eating and overall nutritional well-being and supports improvements to the food environment (Health Canada, 2019b; 2021)
This paper describes the development and provides a detailed description of the Healthy Eating Food Index 2019 (HEFI-2019), which aims to measure alignment of dietary patterns to the “Healthy Food Choices” recommendations of the CFG-2019
Summary
● The Healthy Eating Food Index-2019 was developed to measure adherence to the 2019 Canada's Food Guide recommendations on healthy food choices. ● The HEFI-2019 includes 10 components, of which 5 are based on foods, 1 on beverages and 4 on nutrients, for a total of 80 points. Keywords Canada’s Food Guide, Canadian Community Health Survey, nutrition survey, 24-hour dietary recalls, diet quality, Healthy Eating Food Index, HEFI-2019, food choices, adherence, dietary guidelines
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