Table 4.
Total and component HEI scores by ethnic groups
| HEI categories | Mean servings achieved day−1 | Total | Malay | Chinese | Indian | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 128) | (n = 45) | (n = 56) | (n = 27) | |||
| Total HEI score | 79.3 ± 8.0 | 80.5 ± 7.4 | 80.1 ± 8.1 | 75.7 ± 8.1 | 0.026a,* | |
| HEI rating | ||||||
| Poor | – | |||||
| Improvement required | 73.6 ± 5.7 | |||||
| Good quality | 86.4 ± 3.4 | |||||
| Grouping A | ||||||
| Cereals | 7 | 8.5 ± 1.3 | 8.6 ± 1.3 | 8.3 ± 1.3 | 8.7 ± 1.2 | 0.144b |
| Vegetables | 2 | 7.4 ± 3.0 | 7.0 ± 3.3 | 8.0 ± 2.7 | 7.1 ± 2.8 | 0.164b |
| Fruits | 1 | 5.6 ± 4.1 | 6.2 ± 3.9 | 6.0 ± 4.0 | 3.8 ± 4.0 | 0.044b,* |
| Dairy products | 0.3 | 3.1 ± 3.8 | 3.9 ± 4.0 | 2.9 ± 3.6 | 2.0 ± 3.3 | 0.096b |
| Meat & legumes | 2 | 9.4 ± 1.3 | 9.6 ± 0.8 | 9.5 ± 1.1 | 8.7 ± 2.1 | 0.057b |
| Grouping B | ||||||
| Total fat | 26 % en | 10.0 ± 0.1 | 9.9 ± 0.3 | 10.0 ± 0.1 | 10.0 ± 0.1 | 0.455b |
| Saturated fat | 8 % en | 8.2 ± 2.0 | 8.2 ± 1.9 | 8.5 ± 1.9 | 7.7 ± 2.3 | 0.143b |
| Cholesterol | 237 mg | 9.1 ± 2.1 | 8.7 ± 2.7 | 9.3 ± 1.7 | 9.4 ± 1.4 | 0.723b |
| Sodium | 2,737 mg | 8.4 ± 1.7 | 8.6 ± 1.5 | 7.8 ± 1.9 | 9.0 ± 1.0 | 0.006b,* |
| Grouping C | ||||||
| Food variety | 13 types/ 3 days | 9.7 ± 0.7 | 9.6 ± 0.8 | 9.9 ± 0.3 | 9.3 ± 1.1 | 0.001b,* |
Scores are reported as mean ± SD
* Significance at P < 0.05
a ANOVA tested significant for overall total HEI scores by racial grouping
b Kruskal-Wallis testing for component HEI scores by racial grouping