Table 1. Components and scoring criteria of a-priori Breakfast Quality Score (BQS) and a-priori Daily Intake Quality Score (DQS) constructed in the study.
| Original aHEI components (18) | Components of BQS and DQS | Lowest Score (0 point each) | Highest Score (2 points each) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vegetables | Vegetablesa | No intake | Above median |
| Fruit, | Fruit, | Lowest tertile | Highest tertile |
| Whole grains | Whole grains | Lowest tertile | Highest tertile |
| Sugar-sweetened beverages and fruit juice | Sugar-sweetened beverages and fruit juice | Highest tertile | Lowest tertile |
| Nuts and legumes | Nuts and legumes (incl. peanut butter)a | No intake | Above median |
| Red/processed meat | Red/processed meat | Highest tertile | Lowest tertile |
| trans fat | (Not included) | – | – |
| Long-chain (n-3) fats (EPA + DHA) | Long-chain (n-3) fats (DHA)b | Lowest tertile | Highest tertile |
| PUFAc | PUFA | Lowest tertile | Highest tertile |
| Alcohol | (Not included) | – | – |
| Sodium | (Not included) | – | – |
a
Over half of the participants of this food group were non-consumers; therefore, all non-consumers were treated as a separate category and assigned a score of ‘0’ and consumers were divided into two groups based on median consumption level. Those below median were assigned a score of ‘1’ and above median were assigned score of ‘2’.
b
DHA (Docosahexaenoid acid).
c
PUFA (Polyunsaturated fatty acid).