Table 1.

Demographic, physical, medical, and lifestyle characteristics by quartiles of glycemic load

	Quartile 1 n = 35,353 (%)	Quartile 2 n = 34,909 (%)	Quartile 3 n = 34,712 (%)	Quartile 4 n = 34,815 (%)
Age 60 or older
No	36	37	39	43
Yes	64	63	61	57
Race
White	80	85	86	83
Black	11	8	7	9
Other	10	8	7	8
Education
HS or less	25	22	20	21
College	50	49	49	47
Postgraduate	25	29	31	31
Income $35,000 or more
No	42	39	39	42
Yes	58	61	61	58
BMI
Normal (<25)	37	38	36	30
Overweight (25–29.9)	36	35	35	34
Obese (≥30)	27	27	29	36
Waist-to-hip ratio
<0.81	50	52	52	48
0.81–0.85	25	23	23	25
>0.85	26	24	24	28
Moderate to strenuous activity>20 min day
No activity	17	15	14	16
Some activity of limited duration	42	40	40	41
2–3 episodes per week	17	19	19	17
4 episodes per week	24	27	28	26
Diabetes ever
No	93	94	95	95
Yes	7	6	5	5
Alcohol use
Never or light drinker	43	43	44	46
Past drinker	18	17	18	20
1–7 or more drinks per week	26	27	27	25
7 or more drinks per week	14	13	11	9
Smoking status
Never smoked	49	51	52	53
Past smoker	42	43	42	41
Current smoker	9	7	6	6
Years a regular smoker
Less than 5 years	13	14	15	15
5–9 years	9	10	11	11
10–19 years	20	22	23	22
20–29 years	22	22	22	22
30–39 years	20	19	17	18
40–49 years	12	11	10	10
50 or more years	4	3	2	2
Smoke Or smoked, cigarettes/day
Less than 5	5	5	5	5
5–14	19	19	19	19
15–24	33	33	33	32
25–34	29	29	29	28
35–44	9	9	9	10
45 or more	5	5	6	6

Quartiles of glycemic load based on available carbohydrates (total carbohydrate—fiber) and adjusted for energy standardized to 2,000 kcal

BMI body mass index (kg/m²)