Abstract
Late adolescence to early adulthood is the period of life when prevalence of overweight and obesity rises the fastest, and an important time to understand changes in dietary risk factors. In this study we assess the variation in diet quality through analysis of cross-sectional data from 2957 individuals aged 13 to 30 from the National Diet and Nutrition Study (2008–2016). Diet data were self-reported using four-day food diaries and coded to give diet quality using the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) index (range 0–80) and DASH component food groups (grams/day). The mean DASH index score was low at 34.8 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 34.3–35.4). The regression of diet quality score and food groups on age categories revealed no significant change in diet quality score with age category in males, but an improved diet quality score among females aged 19–21 (β = 2.04, 95% CI = 0.05–4.02), 25–27 (β = 3.77, 95% CI = 1.36–6.18) and 28–30 (β = 2.39, 95% CI = 0.53–4.26), compared to age 13–15. Both sexes showed increased vegetable intake with age. Dairy intake was lower in early adult ages among males, while in females there was an increase in the proportion of low-fat dairy consumed with age. Further research should address the determinants of changes in diet in early adulthood to provide evidence for the targeting of public health policy.
Highlights
Poor quality diet in adulthood increases the risk of obesity and chronic disease [1]
Previous studies reporting data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, a cross-sectional survey representative of the national population, have suggested that U.K. adolescents have a poor quality of diet when compared to adolescents from other European countries [5], with 40% of total energy intake derived from non-core foods [6] and 15% of total energy derived from free sugars [7]
We observed a significant association between sex and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) index (β = 1.58, 95% CI = 0.48–2.68), with higher mean diet quality among females than males
Summary
Poor quality diet in adulthood increases the risk of obesity and chronic disease (e.g., diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, and certain cancers) [1]. The period of life from late adolescence to early adulthood is the time when the prevalence of being overweight and obesity rises the fastest [2], and an important time for understanding changes in determinants of obesity such as diet and physical activity. It is a time when individuals go through many life transitions likely to be associated with changes in the determinants of dietary behaviors [3]. Few studies have analyzed changes in diet through late adolescence and early adulthood [4].
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