Comparison of food intake patterns of adolescents with USDA My Plate Dietary Guidelines (1024.15)

Evaluating food intake among children has a great importance in preventing the onset of adult health problems. Studies suggest that dietary recommendations are not met among adolescents. The aim of this study was to determine if adolescents from highly educated families meet the USDA recommendations based on “Choose MyPlate”. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 336 females and 252 males ages 12-19 years attending selected private and public schools in California and Michigan, who reported their food intake using a web-based food frequency questionnaire. Recommended total daily amounts of food groups of the Choose My Plate guidelines were used for assessment of intake and χ2 test was used for comparison. Intake were non-normally distributed, thus, median values were compared to the guidelines. Nineteen percent of study population is vegetarian. Mean (SD) self-reported exercise was 30.5±25.6 min/day. Daily recommendations were based on gender and age group, thus, evaluation was differentiated accordingly. Median intakes were: fruits, 2.35 svg/d; vegetables, 3.95 svg/d; protein, 2.85 svg/d; dairy, 2.35 svg/d; and grains, 6.53 svg/d. More than half met the recommendations for fruits (67%), vegetables (71.6%), and grains (51.7%) but only 12% and 34.5% met the recommendations for protein and dairy, respectively. These results suggest that nutrition education even in knowledgeable population might be helpful for promoting healthy nutrition among adolescents.