To examine whether skipping breakfast or lunch increased the next meal’s energy content and changed total daily energy content and the quality of food intake measured by the 2010 Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2010).

Means were compared across intake days and meal patterns. Multivariate individual fixed-effects model was used to account for individual food intake and diet quality preferences.

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007–2016.

Adults aged 18 years or older who reported 2 d (24-h periods) of dietary intake and were not pregnant or lactating (n 23 488).

Adults consumed 193 more kJ at lunch after skipping breakfast and 783 more kJ at dinner after skipping breakfast and lunch. Skipping at least one meal reduced total daily intake between 1053 (breakfast) and 1464 (dinner) kJ and reduced the daily HEI score. Skipping breakfast or skipping lunch reduced the HEI component scores for fruit, whole grains, dairy and empty energy; skipping lunch reduced the component scores for fruit, vegetables, whole grain, dairy, seafood and plant protein, and empty energy. Skipping dinner reduced component scores for vegetables, greens and beans, dairy, protein food, seafood and plant proteins, and empty energy. Skipping one or more meals increased component scores for total vegetables (breakfast), whole grains (dinner), Na (lunch or dinner) and refined grains (breakfast, lunch or dinner).

Skipping meals (particularly dinner) reduces daily energy intake, but the reduction in daily diet quality (particularly when skipping breakfast) may impact health negatively over time.

To determine if US household food purchases with lower levels of red meat spending generate lower life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE), greater nutritional quality and improved alignment with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Affordability of purchasing patterns by red meat spending levels was also assessed.

Household food purchase and acquisition data were linked to an environmentally extended input–output life-cycle assessment model to calculate food GHGE. Households (n 4706) were assigned to quintiles by the share of weekly food spending on red meat. Average weekly kilojoule-adjusted GHGE, total food spending, nutrients purchased and 2010 Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2010) were evaluated using ANOVA and linear regression.

USA.

Households participating in the 2012–2013 National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey.

There was substantial variation in the share of the household food budget spent on red meat and total spending on red meat. The association between red meat spending share and total food spending was mixed. Lower red meat spending share was mostly advantageous from a nutritional perspective. Average GHGE were significantly lower and HEI-2010 scores were significantly higher for households spending the least on red meat as a share of total food spending.

Only very low levels of red meat spending as a share of total food spending had advantages for food affordability, lower GHGE, nutrients purchased and diet quality. Further studies assessing changes in GHGE and other environmental burdens, using more sophisticated analytical techniques and accounting for substitution towards non-red meat animal proteins, are needed.

To test the effect of a behavioural economics intervention in two food pantries on the nutritional quality of foods available at the pantries and the foods selected by adults visiting food pantries.

An intervention (SuperShelf) was implemented in two food pantries (Sites A and B), with two other pantries (Sites C and D) serving as a control for pantry outcomes. The intervention aimed to increase the amount and variety of healthy foods (supply), as well as the appeal of healthy foods (demand) using behavioural economics strategies. Assessments included baseline and 4-month follow-up client surveys, client cart inventories, pantry inventories and environmental assessments. A fidelity score (range 0–100) was assigned to each intervention pantry to measure the degree of implementation. A Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) score (range 0–100) was generated for each client cart and pantry.

Four Minnesota food pantries, USA.

Clients visiting intervention pantries before (n 71) and after (n 70) the intervention.

Fidelity scores differed by intervention site (Site A=82, Site B=51). At Site A, in adjusted models, client cart HEI-2010 scores increased on average by 11·8 points (P<0·0001), whereas there was no change at Site B. HEI-2010 pantry environment scores increased in intervention pantries (Site A=8 points, Site B=19 points) and decreased slightly in control pantries (Site C=−4 points, Site D=−3 points).

When implemented as intended, SuperShelf has the potential to improve the nutritional quality of foods available to and selected by pantry clients.

To categorize the home food environment and dietary intake of young children (5–7 years old) from racially/ethnically diverse households using objectively collected data.

Cross-sectional study.

In-home observations in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA.

Families with 5–7-year-old children who identified as Black, White, Hmong, Latino, Native American or Somali.

There were many significant differences by race/ethnicity for child dietary intake and for the home food environment, with specific patterns emerging by race/ethnicity. For example, Somali children had high Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) scores, but low daily intakes of fruits and vegetables. Black children had low HEI-2010 scores and a pattern of low intake of healthful foods and high intake of unhealthful foods. White and Latino families had high levels of both healthful and unhealthful home food availability and children with high HEI-2010 scores.

Results indicate that the home food environment of young children varies across racial/ethnic group. Study findings also provide new information regarding the home food environment of young children in previously understudied racial/ethnic groups and indicate that interventions working to improve the home food environment and dietary intake of children may want to consider race/ethnicity.

Hunger relief agencies have a limited capacity to monitor the nutritional quality of their food. Validated measures of food environments, such as the Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010), are challenging to use due to their time intensity and requirement for precise nutrient information. A previous study used out-of-sample predictions to demonstrate that an alternative measure correlated well with the HEI-2010. The present study revised the Food Assortment Scoring Tool (FAST) to facilitate implementation and tested the tool’s performance in a real-world food pantry setting.

We developed a FAST measure with thirteen scored categories and thirty-one sub-categories. FAST scores were generated by sorting and weighing foods in categories, multiplying each category’s weight share by a healthfulness parameter and summing the categories (range 0–100). FAST was implemented by recording all food products moved over five days. Researchers collected FAST and HEI-2010 scores for food availability and foods selected by clients, to calculate correlations.

Five food pantries in greater Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.

Food carts of sixty food pantry clients.

The thirteen-category FAST correlated well with the HEI-2010 in prediction models (r = 0·68). FAST scores averaged 61·5 for food products moved, 63·8 for availability and 62·5 for client carts. As implemented in the real world, FAST demonstrated good correlation with the HEI-2010 (r = 0·66).

The FAST is a flexible, valid tool to monitor the nutritional quality of food in pantries. Future studies are needed to test its use in monitoring improvements in food pantry nutritional quality over time.

The study aims were to (i) identify determinants of Nutrition Facts Panel (NFP) use and (ii) describe the association between NFP use and dietary intake among Latinos with type 2 diabetes.

Baseline cross-sectional data from a clinical trial were used to assess the association between NFP use and dietary intake. Diet was measured using two methods: (i) a diet quality score (the Healthy Eating Index-2010) derived from a single 24 h recall and (ii) dietary pattern (exploratory factor analyses) from an FFQ. Multivariable logistic and non-parametric quantile regressions were conducted, as appropriate.

Hartford County, Connecticut, USA.

Latino adults (n 203), ≥21 years of age, with diagnosed type 2 diabetes, glycosylated Hb≥7 %, and without medical conditions limiting physical activity.

Participants’ education level, diabetes-related knowledge and English speaking were positively associated with NFP use. At the higher percentiles of diet quality score, NFP use was significantly associated with higher diet quality. Similarly, NFP users were more likely to consume a ‘healthy’ dietary pattern (P=0·003) and less likely to consume a ‘fried snack’ pattern (P=0·048) compared with NFP non-users.

The association between reported NFP use and diet quality was positive and significantly stronger among participants who reported consuming a healthier diet. While NFP use was associated with a healthier dietary pattern, not using NFP was associated with a less-healthy, fried snack pattern. Longitudinal studies are needed to understand whether improving NFP use could be an effective intervention to improve diet quality among Latinos with type 2 diabetes.

Using the Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010), the present study aimed to examine diet quality and the impact of overall diet quality and its components on central obesity among Mexican-American men and women.

Cross-sectional data from NHANES 1999–2012 were used. The HEI-2010 data, including twelve components for a total score of 100, were collected with a 24 h recall interview. Central obesity was defined as a waist circumference of ≥88 cm for women and ≥102 cm for men. Weighted logistic regressions were performed to assess associations between HEI-2010 scores and central obesity.

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2012.

A total of 6847 Mexican Americans aged ≥20 years with reliable dietary recall status and non-pregnancy status.

Higher HEI-2010 total score was associated with lower odds of central obesity in Mexican-American men (OR; 95 % CI=0·98; 0·98, 1·00). Among all Mexican Americans, one-unit higher score of total fruit and sodium (i.e. lower level of intake) was associated with 4 % (0·96; 0·93, 0·99) and 2 % (0·98; 0·96, 0·99) lower odds of central obesity, respectively. However, a higher total proteins score was associated with higher odds of central obesity (1·08; 1·00, 1·16). In gender-specific analyses, a higher whole fruit or sodium score was inversely associated with central obesity in men but not in women.

HEI-2010 scores of total fruit and sodium were inversely associated with central obesity among all Mexican Americans. However, total proteins score and central obesity was positively associated. In Mexican-American men, HEI-2010 total and whole fruit scores were inversely associated with central obesity.

Poor diet quality contributes to morbidity, including poor brain health outcomes such as cognitive decline and dementia. African Americans and individuals living in poverty may be at greater risk for cognitive decrements from poor diet quality.

Cross-sectional.

Baltimore, MD, USA.

Participants were 2090 African Americans and Whites (57 % female, mean age=47·9 years) who completed two 24 h dietary recalls. We examined cognitive performance and potential interactions of diet quality with race and poverty status using baseline data from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study. Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) scores were calculated and interpreted using federal guidelines. A neurocognitive test battery was administered to evaluate cognitive function over several domains.

Linear regression analyses showed that lower HEI-2010 scores were associated with poorer verbal learning and memory (P<0·05) after adjustment for covariates. Diet quality within the sample was poor. Significant interactions of HEI-2010 and poverty status (all P<0·05) indicated that higher diet quality was associated with higher performance on tests of attention and cognitive flexibility, visuospatial ability and perceptual speed among those below the poverty line. No significant race interactions emerged. Higher diet quality was associated with better performance on two measures of verbal learning and memory, irrespective of race and poverty status.

Findings suggest that diet quality and cognitive function are likely related at the population level. Future research is needed to determine whether the association is clinically significant.