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Assessment of diet quality in adults: Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study. Payesh 2003; 2 (3) :221-229
URL: http://payeshjournal.ir/article-1-838-en.html

Objective(s): To determine the Healthy Eating Index (HE!) score and its  relation  to  intake  of nutrients and the number of servings from each food  group of adolescents residing in district 13  of Tehran.
Material & Methods: This study was conducted within the framework of Tehran Lipid and Glucose
Study (TLGS), as part of a dietary intake assessment according to the Food Guide pyramid of individuals residing in district 13 of Tehran. In this study 819 adults, aged 19 years and above, was chosen. Dietary intake assessment was undertaken with 2-day 24-hour recalls. HE! was calculated based on 9 components (The groups of Food Guide pyramid: components I to 5, the percent of fat and saturated fatty acid intake, cholesterol consumption:  component 6 to 8 and dietary  variety  score: component 9). The score range for each component was O to I  0. Therefore the sum score of this index was 90. In this study HEI score modified to the previous studies. Dietary variety score was determined according to the number of consumed foods in the sample size of this study. The HEI score was categorized into three groups: less than 45 (poor diet), 45- 72 (needs improvement) and more than 72 (good diet). Partial correlation was used to show the relation between HE! score and intakes of nutrients and the number of servings from each food  group. The score for each component was calculated and grouped into three categorize:  <5, 5-8 and >8. The percentage of people according to each components of HE! was determined.
Results: The mean score of HEI was 65.1±9.8 in men and 64.9±8.8 in women. The results showed that
the serving number of food groups and approximately nutrients except selenium in those with good diet was significantly higher than the  group with HE! less than  45 (P<0.05). In contrast the percent of total fat and saturated fat intake in those with HE!?:.72  was lower than other groups (P<0.001). The number of food items in individuals with HE! score?:72 was significantly more than others (p<0.001 ). There was a significant  positive correlation  between  the  serving  number  of grains  group  (r =  0.2, P <0.001 ), vegetable (r =  0.4,  P <0.00 I),  fruit (r  =  0.4,  P <0.00 I), dairy (r =  0.3, P <0.00 I),  meat (r =  0.1,  P <0.00 I)  and HE!. There was a significant negative correlation between Total fat intake, percent of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol consumption (r = -0.1,   P<0.00 I) and HE! score. The number of food items had a strong significant positive correlation with HE! (r = 0.5, P <0.00 I). There were significant positive correlation between HE! and nutrients  intake. The results showed that 73.3% of adult's diet needs improvement. Conclusion: HE! is an appropriate  tool for assessment of diet quality in adults. The diet of most adults needs improvement and nutrition education is necessary in this age group.