"Healthy Eating Index"
02/08/09 10:50 Filed in: Nutrition
In a remarkable piece of circular logic, the USDA (which publishes the food "Pyramid" guidelines) reported that diet quality as measured by a heathy eating index (HEI) was highest for people eating high carbohydrate diets. Nevertheless there is very little difference between the BMI of people whose diets basically meet their guideline and those with a "poor" diet.
This is hardly surprising when their "Pyramid" emphasizes carbohydrate, and they made up the HEI - 50% of which is based on how closely a diet matches their Pyramid! Quote: Diet quality as measured by HEI scores was highest for the high carbohydrate Pyramid group (82.9) and lowest for the low carbohydrate group (44.6)." How is the HEI score made up?
Curiously they defined the "Pyramid group" as people who got 30% or less of energy from fat and at least one serving from the five major food groups in the USDA Food Guide Pyramid. Not a very close match then.
The highest body mass indexes (BMIs) were noted for those on a low carbohydrate diet and were significantly lower for men and women on a "high carbohydrate" diet; But wait -- energy intakes were lower in the high carbohydrate/low fat group (1360 kcal) and even lower for vegetarians (1,606 kcal).
So a simpler interpretation of their review of published studies is that the lowest energy intakes were associated with lower BMI. Awesome. They do acknowledge that "Review of the literature suggests that weight loss is independent of diet composition. Energy restriction is the key variable associated with weight reduction in the short term." Lets remember this.
From 1989-1990 of all American individuals, less than 20 percent achieved recommended levels in the grains, fruits, vegetables, total fat, and saturated fat components. Only in the cholesterol component did greater than 50 percent of individuals achieve a perfect score. Yep we've all got the message about cholesterol, even if it is misguided - our bodies are quite capable of making cholesterol.
For the 1994-1996 period they reported mean BMI values based on self-reported height an weight (a poor measure since many people over-state their height and underestimate their weight.) Nevertheless there is very little difference between the BMI of people whose diets basically meet their guideline (25.6 for men and 25.1 for women) and those with a "poor" diet (26.6 for men and 26.2 for women). In explaining this "anomaly" that people with a diet they rate as "good" had a BMI greater than 25, they state that "this is because other factors, such as physical activity, also influence BMI in addition to eating patterns." Lets remember this.
They recommend 2,900 kcal a day for men (19-50) and 2,200 for women (11-50) and the original Pyramids gave no advice on adjusting this on the basis of exercise or activity level. What is also notable is that fewer than one in three of the people in the study consumed the recommended servings of milk and meat; fewer than one in five consumed the recommended servings of vegetables and fruits or below the limits for total fat and saturated fat. Conclusion? People are eating too much fast junk, fatty food!
What about 1990-2000? Most people had a diet that "needs improvement" and only ten percent of the population had a good diet. At least people were aware of the need to reduce salt and cholesterol - perhaps because those are clear messages. When they recommend people consume two servings a day of meat, many people easily eat more than that - because the "serving" size is supposed to be 2.5 ounces. So one "quarter-pounder" is nearly two servings. This time they don't bother to report BMI, possible because it is so evidently out of control.
Let's take a final look at the HEI. It says nothing about total calories eaten! So using it you can be classified as eating a "healthy" diet even if you are eating too much.
Take home messages:
J Am Diet Assoc. 2001 Apr;101(4):411-20
Healthy eating index
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/HEI/healthyeatingindex2005factsheet.pdf
Curiously they defined the "Pyramid group" as people who got 30% or less of energy from fat and at least one serving from the five major food groups in the USDA Food Guide Pyramid. Not a very close match then.
The highest body mass indexes (BMIs) were noted for those on a low carbohydrate diet and were significantly lower for men and women on a "high carbohydrate" diet; But wait -- energy intakes were lower in the high carbohydrate/low fat group (1360 kcal) and even lower for vegetarians (1,606 kcal).
So a simpler interpretation of their review of published studies is that the lowest energy intakes were associated with lower BMI. Awesome. They do acknowledge that "Review of the literature suggests that weight loss is independent of diet composition. Energy restriction is the key variable associated with weight reduction in the short term." Lets remember this.
From 1989-1990 of all American individuals, less than 20 percent achieved recommended levels in the grains, fruits, vegetables, total fat, and saturated fat components. Only in the cholesterol component did greater than 50 percent of individuals achieve a perfect score. Yep we've all got the message about cholesterol, even if it is misguided - our bodies are quite capable of making cholesterol.
For the 1994-1996 period they reported mean BMI values based on self-reported height an weight (a poor measure since many people over-state their height and underestimate their weight.) Nevertheless there is very little difference between the BMI of people whose diets basically meet their guideline (25.6 for men and 25.1 for women) and those with a "poor" diet (26.6 for men and 26.2 for women). In explaining this "anomaly" that people with a diet they rate as "good" had a BMI greater than 25, they state that "this is because other factors, such as physical activity, also influence BMI in addition to eating patterns." Lets remember this.
They recommend 2,900 kcal a day for men (19-50) and 2,200 for women (11-50) and the original Pyramids gave no advice on adjusting this on the basis of exercise or activity level. What is also notable is that fewer than one in three of the people in the study consumed the recommended servings of milk and meat; fewer than one in five consumed the recommended servings of vegetables and fruits or below the limits for total fat and saturated fat. Conclusion? People are eating too much fast junk, fatty food!
What about 1990-2000? Most people had a diet that "needs improvement" and only ten percent of the population had a good diet. At least people were aware of the need to reduce salt and cholesterol - perhaps because those are clear messages. When they recommend people consume two servings a day of meat, many people easily eat more than that - because the "serving" size is supposed to be 2.5 ounces. So one "quarter-pounder" is nearly two servings. This time they don't bother to report BMI, possible because it is so evidently out of control.
Let's take a final look at the HEI. It says nothing about total calories eaten! So using it you can be classified as eating a "healthy" diet even if you are eating too much.
Take home messages:
- People are eating too much
- Energy restriction is the key variable associated with weight reduction in the short term
- Factors, such as physical activity, also influence BMI in addition to eating patterns.
J Am Diet Assoc. 2001 Apr;101(4):411-20
Healthy eating index
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/HEI/healthyeatingindex2005factsheet.pdf
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