Child Development

456 APPENDIX A

TABLE 15

Healthy Eating Index: Overall and Component Mean Scores for Children, 3-Year Average 1994– 1996

Component Ages 2– 3 Ages 4– 6 Ages 7– 10 Ages 11– 14 Ages 15– 18

All All All Females Males Females Males

Overall HEI score 73.8 67.8 66.6 63.5 62.2 60.9 60.7

1. Grains 8.3 7.2 7.6 6.7 7.2 6.3 7.5
   (54) (27) (31) (16) (29) (17) (34)


2. Vegetables 5.9 4.9 5.1 5.5 5.4 5.8 6.3
   (31) (16) (20) (24) (23) (26) (35)


3. Fruits 7 5.3 4.3 3.9 3.5 3.1 2.8
   (53) (29) (18) (14) (9) (12) (11)


4. Milk 7.2 7.4 7.6 5.2 6.2 4.2 6.1
   (44) (44) (49) (15) (27) (12) (28)


5. Meat 6.3 5.3 5.5 5.7 6.5 5.8 6.9
   (28) (14) (17) (15) (28) (21) (36)


6. Total fat 7.4 7.3 7.2 7.2 6.8 7.1 6.8
   (40) (38) (35) (37) (33) (38) (34)


7. Saturated fat 5.4 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.7 6.6 6
   (27) (28) (28) (31) (32) (42) (35)


8. Cholesterol 9 8.9 8.7 8.5 7.6 8.4 6.7
   (83) (83) (80) (78) (69) (77) (58)


9. Sodium 8.8 8.1 6.8 7.1 5.2 6.9 3.7
   (64) (53) (54) (39) (21) (37) (51)


10. Variety 8.4 7.9 8.1 7.8 8.1 6.7 7.8
    (64) (53) (54) (51) (58) (37) (51)
    Note: Percentage of children meeting the dietary recommendations for each component appears in parentheses.
    The Healthy Eating Index examines the diet of American children ages 2 to 18. The Index consists of 10 components, each representing different aspects of a
    healthful diet.
    Components 1 to 5 measure the degree to which a person’s diet conforms to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Guide Pyramid serving recommendations for
    the five major food groups: grains (bread, cereal, rice, and pasta), vegetables, fruits, milk (Milk, yogurt, and cheese), and meat/meat alternatives (meat, poultry, fish,
    dry beans, eggs, and nuts). Component 7 measures saturated fat consumption as a percentage of total food energy intake. Components 8 and 9 measure total
    cholesterol intake and total sodium intake, respectively. And component 10 measures the degree of variety in a person’s diet.
    Each component of the Index has a maximum score of 10 and a minimum score of 0. Intermediate scores are computed proportionatel y. High component scores
    indicate intakes close to recommended ranges or amounts. The maximum combined score for the 10 components is 100. An HEI score above 80 implies a good diet,
    an HEI score between 51 and 80 implies a diet that needs improvement, and an HEI score less than 51 implies a poor diet.
    SOURCE: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals.

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