Update of the Healthy Eating Index: HEI-2010

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Public Health
• Dietary Assessment

Background:

• The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) measures diet quality against federal dietary guidance.
• The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans necessitated an update to the HEI.
• Previous versions of the HEI have been used for population assessment and intervention evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To update the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) to align with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
• To introduce new components and modify existing ones to better reflect current nutritional science and recommendations.
• To provide a tool for assessing diet quality in the US population and evaluating dietary interventions.

Main Methods:

• The HEI-2010 retains 12 components, with nine for adequacy and three for moderation.
• A density approach (per 1,000 calories or % of calories) is used for setting standards.
• Key changes include replacing "Dark Green and Orange Vegetables and Legumes" with "Greens and Beans," adding "Seafood and Plant Proteins," and introducing "Fatty Acids."

Main Results:

• The HEI-2010 incorporates specific recommendations from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines.
• The "Refined Grains" component replaces "Total Grains" to address overconsumption.
• The "Fatty Acids" component acknowledges the shift towards unsaturated fats.

Conclusions:

• The HEI-2010 is a refined measure of diet quality aligned with the latest federal dietary guidance.
• This updated index will facilitate continued monitoring of population diet quality and evaluation of public health initiatives.
• The HEI-2010 supports research into dietary patterns and the food environment.