Food Patterns Equivalents Intakes from Food: Mean Amounts Consumer per Individual, What We Eat in America, NHANES 2011-12; Tables 1-4

Authors: Bowman, Shanthy; Clemens, John; Friday, James; THOERIG, RACHEL - University Of Maryland; Moshfegh, Alanna

Submitted to: Worldwide Web Site: Food Surveys Research Group
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/10/2014
Publication Date: 12/23/2014
Citation: Bowman, S.A., Clemens, J.C., Friday, J.E., Thoerig, R.C., Moshfegh, A.J. 2014. Food Patterns Equivalents Intakes from Food: Mean Amounts Consumer per Individual, What We Eat in America, NHANES 2011-12; Tables 1-4. Worldwide Web Site: Food Surveys Research Group. Available: www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=23871.

Interpretive Summary: To evaluate how well Americans adhere to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommendations, a Food Patterns Equivalents Database (FPED) 2011-12 has been developed for the foods reported in the What We Eat in America, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (WWEIA, NHANES) 2011-12. The main Food Patterns (FP) components include: Fruit, Vegetables, Grains, Dairy, Protein Foods, Added Sugars, Oils, Solid Fats, and Alcoholic Drinks. Many of the main FP components have several subcomponents, resulting in a total of 37 FP components. The four table sets provide mean intake estimates for the 37 FP components per individual grouped by the following demographic categories: age-gender (27 groups), race/ethnicity (20 groups), annual household income as percentage of poverty (20 groups), and annual household income in dollars (20 groups). The mean intakes of fruit, vegetables, and whole grains were well below the DGA recommendations. Individuals 2 years and over consumed only 1.03 cup equivalents (eq.) of fruit of which 33 percent was consumed as fruit juice. Potatoes were the highest consumed vegetable (0.33 cup eq.) followed by tomatoes (0.29 cup eq.). Whole grains intake was less than one ounce equivalent (0.92 oz. eq.). Estimated mean intake of total meat, poultry, and seafood was 4.44 ounce equivalents. Hispanics consumed about 1.12 cup equivalents of total fruit of which 36 percent was consumed as juice. Hispanics consumed 0.22 cup equivalent of legumes, whereas Non-Hispanic white consumed 0.10 and Non-Hispanic black 0.08 cup equivalent of legumes. Non-Hispanic Asians consumed the highest amount of whole grains (1.24 ounce equivalents) and all other race/ethnicity groups consumed less than one ounce equivalent. Individuals living in lower income households (income below 131 and 131-150 percent of poverty) consumed lower amounts of total fruit, total vegetables, and higher amounts of added sugars than individuals living in high income (income above 350 percent of poverty) household. This information is useful to nutritionists and policymakers to assess the diet quality of Americans from different demographic backgrounds. This information can be used to develop appropriate nutrition intervention programs for specific population groups.

Technical Abstract: The four table sets include national estimates of mean intakes of the 37 Food Patterns (FP) components per individual estimated from the day 1 dietary intake data of 7,933 individuals, ages 2 years and over, in What We Eat in America, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (WWEIA, NHANES), 2011-12 and Food Patterns Equivalents Database (FPED), 2011-12. Data are presented by the following demographic categories: age-gender (27 groups), race/ethnicity (20 groups), annual household income as percentage of poverty (20 groups), and annual household income in dollars (20 groups). The main FP components include: Fruit, Vegetables, Grains, Dairy, Protein Foods, Added Sugars, Oils, Solid Fats, and Alcoholic Drinks. Many of the main FP components are further subdivided so as to enhance the use of FPED to facilitate in-depth analyses. The national mean total fruit intake estimate for all individuals 2 years and older was 1.03 cup equivalent, of which 33 percent was consumed as fruit juice, 18 percent as citrus, melons, and berries, and 48 percent as other fruit (fruit other than citrus, melons, and berries). Estimated mean total vegetables intake was 1.47 cup equivalents of which 22 percent was potatoes and 20 percent was tomatoes. Whole grains consumption was less than one ounce equivalent and far below the Dietary Guidelines recommendations. Estimated mean total dairy intake was 1.8 cup equivalents of which 44 percent was cheese and 51 percent was fluid milk, which included calcium added soy milk and dry and evaporated milk computed as fluid milk equivalents. The mean intake estimates for meat (uncured), poultry, and cured meat were 1.56, 1.37, and 0.98 ounce equivalents, respectively. On average, Americans consumed 37 grams of solid fats, 25 grams of oils, and 18.4 teaspoon equivalents of added sugars. Non-Hispanic Asians consumed the highest amount of total fruit followed by Hispanics, 1.27 and 1.12 cup equivalents, respectively. Non-Hispanic Asians consumed the highest amount of whole grains (1.24 ounce equivalent), and the lowest amount of solid fats (25 grams) and added sugars (11.4 teaspoon equivalents). Hispanics consumed about one-fifth of a cup equivalent of legumes as vegetables. Individuals from low income households (under 131 percent of poverty) consumed 0.98 cup equivalent of total fruit of which 42 percent was fruit juice, whereas individuals from high income households (over 350 percent of poverty) consumed 1.14 cup equivalent of fruit of which only 25 percent was fruit juice. On average, individuals living in high income households consumed lower amount of added sugars as compared with individuals living in low income households (16.8 vs. 20.2 teaspoon equivalents, respectively).