INTRODUCTION
Poor quality of daily diet intake makes one out of every two adult Americans victims of chronic disease of one kind or another. The Federal Government, in addition to issuing dietary guidelines to the public, sets various benchmarks that would help Americans to streamline their eating habits towards living healthily. This research studied the current consumption patterns of the American public and the dietary value of the food intake, and compared the data with the benchmarks set for achieving the Healthy People 2020 target. In light of the Health and Human Services and the Agriculture Departments of the US developing the Dietary Guidelines 2010 with many evidence-based facts on healthy diets, the Healthy People 2020 drive was targeted based on the baseline information available on dietary intake during 2010 (Wilson, Reedy and Krebs-Smith, 2016).
METHOD
The study used 24-hour dietary pattern data of individuals generated by the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey. The data was collected through a cross-sectional survey conducted among the US public above the age of two. The survey was conducted between 1999 and 2012. Healthy Eating Index (HEI), which is a measure of diet quality in relation to the set benchmarks, was identified as the unit for comparing the quality of food intake of participants. The HEI scores for 2010 were estimated for the populations targeted for the study at various regions by applying the population ratio method. The HEI for 12 essential food components taken by the population including whole grains, dairy, fatty acids, sea food, refined grains, sodium, fruits and vegetables of different categories and empty calories were calculated. Each component was assigned a maximum point of 5, 10 and 20, depending upon their essentiality to healthy living, so that the maximum obtainable score was 100. On exporting the obtained scores to Microsoft Excel trend lines were derived, and the lines projected to 2020 based on the current trend.
RESULTS
The study showed that the mean HEI value has increased from 49 to 59 from 1999 to 2012. This indicates that continuation of a similar trend would make the HEI value 65 by 2020. However, to reach the 2020 health objectives a HEI score of 74 is required. The HEI score for various components for the study period seemed to show fluctuations in intake pattern over the period. For instance, an increase in the score of beans and green leaves showed an improved trend in using healthy vegetables. Similarly, a towering increase in score for empty calories from 6.9 to 12.6 out of 20 from 1999 to 2010 indicated a decreasing trend in using foods that provide additional calorie but no nutritional value. Most importantly, for sodium the current trend seemed to move away from the 2020 target of healthy individuals.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The study shows that there is an increasing trend in following healthy food habits by the American public even as the increase in sodium intake is a matter of serious concern. Interestingly, the study brings out the diverse consumption behavior of individuals belonging to various socioeconomic status. This would guide future researchers who may concentrate on analyzing how such varying trends can affect the objective as a whole of Healthy People 2020. On comparing the current trend of dietary behavior of the US individuals with what remains to be achieved to reach the Healthy People goal 2020, the study warns that continuing with the current trend would not help reach the future goal for 2020. In other words, the study reiterates the urgent need for changing the individual food habits of the American public. Also, instead of relying on the population means, future studies may concentrate on identifying the difference by various demographic factors like sex and age to determine the groups at risk because of current consumption patterns.
REFLECTIONS AND IDEAS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
Apart from taking healthy diets, physical activities are also equally important to ensure healthy living. For instance, even though individuals maintain HEI by taking a right combination of nutritional diets, unless they practice a good exercise program they cannot enjoy perfect health. Besides, the current study did not take into account the life styles of the target population like alcohol consumption, smoking and work environments. Therefore, future researchers can incorporate additional components reflecting the life styles of individuals to ensure a holistic approach to the study. Similarly, some dietary components that may be helpful for someone to maintain his health may turn out to be harmful to another individual. For instance, a minor increase in certain nutrients like LDL cholesterol may prove very harmful to certain individuals; or a minor decrease in the intake of a particular vitamin may make a person sick whereas for another person minor deficiencies may not matter much. On an entirely new dimension, future research on nutrition and dietetics may probe into certain other important factors that drive the food choice of the population. The factors include the market price of food items, federal laws on food control, consumer response to noneconomic factors like nutrition labeling, and easy availability of products in the market. Also, the possibility of promoting dietary diversity among the public with a tagline of “consume everything in restraint” may be explored to encourage healthy eating..
Reference
Wilson, M. M., Reedy, J., and Krebs-Smith, S.M. (2016). American Diet Quality: Where It Is, Where It Is Heading, and What It Could Be. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and
Dietetics, 116(2).
