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Achieving high diet quality at eating occasions: findings from a nationally representative study of Australian adults

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Abstract This study examined differences in food groups consumed at eating occasions by the level of adherence to dietary guidelines in Australian adults (≤19 years) and whether consumption differed with respect to age, sex, and education levels. Secondary analysis of the 2011-2012 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (N = 9054) was performed, using one 24-hour dietary recall with self-reported eating occasions. Dietary Guideline Index scores were used to assess adherence to the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines. Mean differences (95% CI) in servings of the five food groups and discretionary foods at eating occasions were estimated for adults with higher and lower diet quality, stratified by sex, age group, and education. Using survey-based t-tests, differences of at least half a serving with p-values greater than 0.05 were considered meaningful. Compared to adults with lower diet quality, women and men aged 19-50 years with higher diet quality consumed more serves of vegetables at dinner (Mean difference [95% CI], women; 1.0 [0.7, 1.2]; men: 0.9; [0.6, 1.3]) and fewer serves of discretionary foods at snacks (women: -0.7 [-0.9, -0.5]; men: -1.0 [-1.4, -0.7]). Other food groups, such as grains, dairy and alternatives, meats and alternatives, were not significantly different between adults with lower and higher diet quality, across any eating occasions and age groups. Discretionary food intake at lunch, dinner, and snacks was consistently greater among adults with lower diet quality, regardless of education level. Our findings identify dinner and snacks as opportunities to increase vegetable intake and reduce discretionary food intake, respectively.

History

Journal

British Journal of Nutrition

Volume

131

Pagination

868-879

Location

Cambridge, Eng.

Open access

  • Yes

ISSN

0007-1145

eISSN

1475-2662

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Issue

5

Publisher

Cambridge University Press