April 28, 2024

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Many Americans overestimate the healthy quality of their diets

Many Americans overestimate the healthy quality of their diets



 

Many Americans overestimate the healthy quality of their diets

Can you properly assess the quality of your diet? A recent survey of U.S. residents showed that most Americans could not answer correctly.

Dr. Jessica Thomson said: “We found that only a small number of US adults can accurately assess dietary health, and it is interesting that most people who think they are eating poorly can accurately assess their diet.

In addition, most adults overestimate their The quality of the diet is even exaggerated.”

 

Many Americans overestimate the healthy quality of their diets

 

 

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a single, direct question could replace or supplement the comprehensive dietary questionnaire often used as a screening tool in nutrition research in nutrition research.

 

Self-rated health has been shown to be a reliable indicator of morbidity and mortality in previous studies, but little is known about the relationship between self-rated diet quality and actual diet quality.

 

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally representative survey of the American people conducted twice a year, provided the data for this study.

Participants were asked to fill out a comprehensive 24-hour food recall form and rated their diet as excellent, very good, good, fair or poor.

 

The researchers scored each participant’s diet quality using the Meal Recall Questionnaire. Fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, low-fat dairy, seafood and plant protein are some examples of foods rated as healthier.

Refined grains and meals high in salt, added sugar, or saturated fat are considered less nutritious foods.

 

Many Americans overestimate the healthy quality of their diets

 

 

The study revealed a significant disconnect between the scores the researchers calculated and how participants ranked their own diets.

Of the more than 9,700 participants, about 8,000 (roughly 85%) inaccurately assessed the quality of their diets. Of these, almost all (99%) overestimated the healthiness of their diet.

 

Surprisingly, those who thought their diet was poor had the highest accuracy rates, with the researchers’ scores matching the participants’ scores 97 percent of the time.

In the other four rating categories, the percentage of participants who accurately assessed the quality of their diet ranged from 1% to 18%.

 

 

 

 

Many Americans overestimate the healthy quality of their diets

(source:internet, reference only)


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