Sex differences in diet quality and health measures in US Soldiers entering initial military training

Abstract

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) aim to provide nutrition recommendations that promote health and the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) provides a measure of adherence to the DGA. The HEI may be a useful tool for assessing Soldiers’ diets and identifying nutrition education topics of benefit. This study assessed diet quality and health biomarkers of female (n= 71) and male (n= 117) Soldiers (20 ± 3 yr [mean ± SD]). A quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and fasting blood were collected at the beginning of basic combat training. FFQ data were then converted to a HEI score, which ranges from 0–100. The average HEI score was 58.8 ± 10.6. Females had a higher HEI score than males (62.9 ± 11.7 v. 56.4 ± 9.2, P < 0.05) indicating females had better adherence to the DGA. Male HEI scores negatively correlated with their total cholesterol (−0.228; P < 0.05). However, there were no significant correlations between HEI scores and weight, BMI, percent body fat, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, or glucose for either sex. Females had higher HEI scores than males for intake of calories from solid fats, alcoholic beverages and added sugars, percent of energy from saturated fat, whole and total fruit servings, and total vegetable servings (P < 0.05, all such). These data indicate sex differences in diet quality and may provide insight into which topics should be the focus of nutrition education for Soldiers.Research supported by MRMC.