An Entropy-Based Approach to Measuring Diet Adherence

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Public Health
• Econometrics

Background:

• Assessing household dietary patterns is crucial for understanding public health and food security.
• Existing methods may not adequately capture adherence to normative food baskets.
• Dietary adherence is influenced by socioeconomic factors and food environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an entropy-based approach for quantifying diet adherence.
• To introduce the Food Basket Adherence Index (FBAI) for measuring deviations from a normative food basket.
• To analyze household food acquisition patterns in Mexico City.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the Mexican National Survey of Household Income and Expenditure.
• Application of cross-entropy measures to calculate diet adherence.
• Development of a normative food basket for Mexico City.

Main Results:

• The proposed Food Basket Adherence Index (FBAI) effectively measures and decomposes diet adherence.
• The average FBAI in Mexico City was 0.44, indicating substantial deviation from the normative food basket.
• The FBAI distribution allows for meaningful distinctions between different household groups.

Conclusions:

• Diet adherence can be quantitatively measured and decomposed using cross-entropy methods.
• The FBAI provides novel insights into the relationship between income, food environments, and food insecurity.
• This approach can inform targeted public health interventions and policies related to nutrition and food security.