Abstract
Background College students face a number of challenges regarding food choices and eating behaviors and frequently consume a diet low in fruits and vegetables, and high in fat and added sugars. Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dietary quality of college students using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) to shed light on the importance of nutrition education interventions for young adults to meet the dietary guidelines. Study Design, Settings, Participants Six hundred and sixty nine college students participated in this cross-sectional survey. Participants were categorized into three groups based on percentage of body fat (under-fat, normal, and over-fat/obese) using a Tanita bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) scale. The National Institutes of Health Diet History Questionnaire (DHQ) was used to obtain data on dietary intake. Measurable Outcome/Analysis The DHQ data was recoded to obtain Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores based on HEI-2015. HEI scores range from 0-100, with >80 good, 51-80 needs improvement, and >51 being poor. Mean differences in HEI scores by gender and weight status were assessed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results The average HEI score was 63.37 ± 9.0, and female students had a significantly higher HEI score than male students (P = .005, 63.82 ± 9.0 and 61.24 ± 8.7, respectively). In addition, female students had higher HEI component scores than males for total fruits, total vegetables, greens and beans, and whole grains. However, males had a higher HEI component score for total protein foods. Obese students had lower HEI component scores for added sugars and for seafood and plant proteins compared to normal weight students; however, there was no significant differences in total HEI scores among the three body fat category groups. Conclusion These results may contribute to the development of dietary interventions for young adults in order to prevent or postpone onset of chronic diseases later in life. Funding None.
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