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) | – | – |
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’.
DHA (Docosahexaenoid acid).
PUFA (Polyunsaturated fatty acid).