Psychosocial factors associated with diet quality in a working adult population

The associations between specific intra- and inter-personal psychosocial factors and dietary patterns were explored in a healthy, working adult sample of university and health center employees (N = 640) who were enrolled in a prospective predictive health study. Participants had a mean age of 48 (SD = 11) years and were 67% women and 30% minority. Baseline psychosocial measures of perceived stress, depressive symptoms, social support, and family functioning were examined for their relationships with three diet quality indices-AHEI, DASH, and the Mediterranean. Dietary intake was of moderate quality in this high-income, well-educated, psychosocially healthy population. Social support was positively associated with better diet quality for all three indices (p < .01). Further research should focus on socio-environmental factors associated with diet quality.