Food sources of energy and nutrients of public health concern and to limit and the contribution of mixed dishes to the diets of adults 19+ years of age: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011-2014

Authors: O'NEIL, CAROL - Louisiana State University Agcenter; NICKLAS, THERESA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); FULGONI III, VICTOR - Nutrition Impact, Llc

Submitted to: Acta Scientific NUTRITIONAL HEALTH
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/6/2020
Publication Date: 3/11/2020
Citation: O'Neil, C.E., Nicklas, T.A., Fulgoni III, V.L. 2020. Food sources of energy and nutrients of public health concern and to limit and the contribution of mixed dishes to the diets of adults 19+ years of age: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011-2014. Acta Scientific NUTRITIONAL HEALTH. 4(4):28-49.

Interpretive Summary: The typical diet in US adults is energy-dense and nutrient poor, overall it is a poor diet quality. Due to low intake of nutrient-dense foods, many adults do not meet the recommendations for nutrients of public health concern and overconsume nutrients to limit. This study showed that for adults in both age groups studied, mixed dishes contributed substantially to nutrients of public health concern, with dairy foods contributing significantly to intake of calcium and vitamin D, while providing some saturated fatty acids and sodium in the diet. The importance of fortifying foods with vitamin D was also important since few foods naturally contain high levels of vitamin D. The surprising finding was the importance of coffee and tea to potassium intake and the clear need to encourage more nutrient dense foods, such as milk, and fruit and vegetables to increase potassium intake. Awareness of food and beverage sources of nutrients can help health professionals design and promote effective age-appropriate strategies to increase the nutrient density of the diet. In addition, this awareness can help the food industry to design and market foods frequently consumed by adults that are more nutrient dense while still maintaining acceptability, availability, and affordability.

Technical Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the food sources of energy, nutrients of public health concern and nutrients to limit using two approaches focusing on dairy foods. Twenty-four hour dietary recalls from adults 19 - 50 (n = 5,431) and 51+ years (n = 4,522) participating in NHANES 2011 - 2014 were analyzed. Energy and nutrients were sample-weighted and ranked on percentage contribution to the diet using specific food group intake (SFG) and disaggregated data (DD) for dairy foods. In those 19 - 50 years, cheese and milk were the top ranked food sources of calcium in the SFG and DD; for potassium, vegetables, excluding potatoes, and coffee and tea were top ranked in SFG data and milk and vegetables, excluding potatoes, were top ranked in the DD; for vitamin D, milk and seafood were the top ranked food sources in both analyses. For saturated fatty acids (SFA), mixed dishes-Mexican and sweet bakery products were top ranked using SFG, and cheese and sweet bakery products were top ranked using DD. For those 51 - 99 years for calcium, milk and cheese were the top ranked food sources in both analyses; for potassium, coffee and tea and vegetables, excluding potatoes were the top two food sources for both analyses; for vitamin D, milk and seafood were top ranked. For SFA, fats and oils and sweet bakery products and cheese and fats/oils were top ranked using SFG and DD, respectively. For SFA, mixed dishes-fats/oils and sweet bakery products were top ranked for SFG analysis; cheese and fats/oils were top ranked for the DD. For sodium, bread, rolls, and tortillas and cured meats/poultry were also top ranked for both analyses. Identification of food sources of these important nutrients can help health professionals implement appropriate dietary recommendations and plan age-appropriate interventions to improve diet and health.