Table 3.

Health in Pregnancy and Postpartum (HIPP) participants’ (N=228) baseline Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) total scores and component scores, January 2015 to January 2019, Columbia, South Carolina.

			Participants’ Component Scores
HEI-2015 Component	Standard for Achieving Maximum Score	Maximum Score	All	White	African-American
			← Mean score±SD →
Adequacy a
Total Vegetables	≥1.1 cup equiv. per 1,000 kcal	5.0	3.5 ± 1.4	3.5 ± 1.4	3.5 ± 1.4
Greens and Beans	≥0.2 cup equiv. per 1,000 kcal	5.0	2.6 ± 2.2	2.6 ± 2.1	2.5 ± 2.3
Total Fruits	≥0.8 cup equiv. per 1,000 kcal	5.0	2.8 ± 1.9	2.7 ± 1.8	2.9 ± 1.9
Whole Fruits	≥0.4 cup equiv. per 1,000 kcal	5.0	2.8 ± 2.1	3.0 ± 2.0	2.5 ± 2.2
Whole Grains	≥1.5 oz equiv. per 1,000 kcal	10.0	2.3 ± 2.6	2.6 ± 2.6	2.0 ± 2.6
Dairy	≥1.3 cup equiv. per 1,000 kcal	10.0	6.3 ± 2.8	6.6 ± 2.5	5.9 ± 3.0
Total Protein Foods	≥2.5 oz equiv. per 1,000 kcal	5.0	4.4 ± 1.0	4.3 ± 1.0	4.5 ± 1.0
Seafood and Plant Proteins	≥0.8 oz equiv. per 1,000 kcal	5.0	2.3 ± 2.2	2.4 ± 2.1	2.2 ± 2.2
Ratio of Unsaturated Fat to Saturated Fat	(PUFAs + MUFAs)/SFAs ≥2.5	10.0	4.7 ± 3.2	4.2 ± 2.9	5.3 ± 3.4*
Moderation b
Sodium	≤1.1 gram per 1,000 kcal	10.0	2.1 ± 2.6	2.2 ± 2.5	2.0 ± 2.7
Refined Grains	≤1.8 oz equiv. per 1,000 kcal	10.0	6.0 ± 3.3	5.7 ± 3.2	6.3 ± 3.3
Saturated Fats	≤8% of energy	10.0	5.0 ± 3.0	4.7 ± 2.9	5.3 ± 3.2
Added Sugars	≤6.5% of energy	10.0	7.1 ± 2.8	6.7 ± 3.0	7.7 ± 2.5*
Total Score			52.0 ± 11.7	51.3 ± 12.1	52.7 ± 11.1

^aAdequacy components-dietary components that should be increased.

^bModeration components-dietary components that should be consumed in moderation.

^*p < 0.05