Table 2.

Healthy Eating Index-2010 components and their scoring standards.

Component	Maximum points	Standard for maximum score	Standard for minimum score of zero
Total vegetables	5	≥1.1 cup equiv. per 1,000 kcal	No vegetables
Total fruit	5	≥0.8 cup equiv. per 1,000 kcal	No fruit
Whole fruit	5	≥0.4 cup equiv. per 1,000 kcal	No whole fruit
Greens and beans	5	≥0.2 cup equiv. per 1,000 kcal	No dark green vegetables or beans or peas
Whole grains	10	≥1.5 oz. equiv. per 1,000 kcal	No whole grains
Dairy	10	≥1.3 cup equiv. per 1,000 kcal	No dairy
Total protein foods	5	≥2.5 oz. equiv. per 1,000 kcal	No protein foods
Seafood and plant proteins	5	≥0.8 oz. equiv. per 1,000 kcal	No seafood or plan proteins
Fatty acids	10	(PUFAs + MUFAs)/SFAs ≥2.5	(PUFAs + MUFAs)/SFAs ≤1.2
Moderation
Refined grains	10	≤1.8 oz. equiv. per 1,000 kcal	≥4.3 oz. equiv. per 1,000 kcal
Sodium	10	≤1.1 gram per 1,000 kcal	≥2.0 grams per 1,000 kcal
Empty Calories	20	≤19% of energy	≥50% of energy

Kcal, Kilocalorie, a measure of energy; MUFA, monounsaturated fatty acid; PUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acid; SFA, Saturated fatty acid. Source: Author’s using data from the National Institutes of Health’s Healthy Eating Index website.