Does Dietary Intake by Tehranian Adults Align with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans? Observations from the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study

Parvin Mirmiran,Fereidoun Azizi,Mahsa Jessri,Niloofar Shiva,Firoozeh Hosseini-Esfahani,L Kathleen Mahan

doi:10.3329/jhpn.v29i1.7564

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare dietary intakes by Tehranian adults with recent dietary guidelines for the Americans. The study made a cross-sectional assessment of the dietary patterns of Tehranian adults using a validated food-frequency questionnaire. It included 2,510 subjects (1,121 men and 1,389 women) aged 19-70 years. They were the participants of the third follow-up survey of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (2005-2008). The dietary patterns were assessed using the latest World Health Organization (WHO)'s nutritional goals and Dietary Guidelines for the Americans Adherence Index (DGAI) 2005. The mean [standard deviation (SD)] DGAI score for this population was 8.31 (1.9). Participants in the highest quartile category of DGAI were more likely to be female, older, non-smoking, and physically active than those in the lowest quartile category (p < 0.001). Percentage of participants meeting the DGA recommendations was low, especially for starchyvegetables (2.3%), orange vegetables (16.2%), lean meat (9.2%), grains (12.0%), and legumes (6.4%). Over-consumption of grains was observed in almost half of the participants while approximately 20% of the subjects over-consumed milk and meat groups. Intakes of most nutrients examined were significantly associated with the DGAI 2005 score (p < 0.001), except for vitamin E, vitamin B12, and vitamin D. The least adherence with the WHO goals was observed with n-3 PUFAs, sodium, fruit, and vegetable intakes. The results revealed that the dietary patterns of most Tehranian adults did not comply with the 2005 DGA and nutritional goals of WHO/Food and Agriculture Organization.

Highlights

The importance of maintaining a healthful diet in preventing diet-related diseases has been emphasized [1,2]
The national nutritional guidelines in Iran cover mainly the general qualitative dietary recommendations for healthful eating [12] and, studies conducted on dietary habits of Iranians have used earlier versions of the food guide of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), showing that Iranian adults are transitioning to diets high in fat and sweets [13,14] and low in meats and dairy products [15]
The results of the present study revealed that the dietary patterns of most Tehranian adults were not in accordance with the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for the Americans Adherence Index (DGAI) 2005 as evident from the finding that over two-thirds of this population obtained

Summary

Introduction

The importance of maintaining a healthful diet in preventing diet-related diseases has been emphasized [1,2]. The Dietary Guidelines for the Americans Adherence Index (DGAI) 2005 is aimed at assessing the adherence of adult populations to these guidelines [9] and, compared to previous tools, it is a preferable measure of the quality of diet as it penalizes over-consumption of energy-dense foods—a shortcoming of earlier indices [10]. The present study evaluated the dietary compliance of Tehranian adults with the latest WHO/FAO nutrition goals and key recommendations of the USDA food guide, using the DGAI 2005

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion