Table 3.

HEI-2015 Scores by Self-Rated Diet Quality, Stratified by BMI Category, for Adults in NHANES 2011–2018^a

HEI component	Poor	Fair	Good	Very good	Excellent	β	SE	p- value
Total score (100)b
18.5–24.9	48.4	49.7	52.1	55.5	58.8	2.9	0.25	<0.001
25–29.9	49.3	51.1	53.7	58.9	58.4	3.0	0.28	<0.001
30–34.9	50.9	50.4	53.0	54.8	56.1	1.7	0.34	<0.001
35–39.9	50.6	51.4	51.9	58.3	55.4	2.1	0.54	<0.001
≥40	48.3	47.6	49.9	50.9	52.3	1.2	0.54	0.03
Total Fruits (5)
18.5–24.9	1.5	1.7	2.2	2.5	2.7	0.3	0.04	<0.001
25–29.9	1.7	2.1	2.3	2.9	2.9	0.4	0.04	<0.001
30–34.9	2.5	1.9	2.2	2.2	2.7	0.1	0.06	0.08
35–39.9	2.1	2.1	2.0	2.5	2.2	0.1	0.07	0.16
≥40	1.5	1.8	1.9	1.9	2.1	0.1	0.07	0.09
Whole Fruits (5)
18.5–24.9	1.4	1.8	2.3	2.5	2.7	0.3	0.05	<0.001
25–29.9	1.7	2.2	2.4	3.1	3.1	0.4	0.05	<0.001
30–34.9	2.6	2.0	2.3	2.3	2.7	0.1	0.07	0.14
35–39.9	2.2	2.4	2.2	2.9	2.2	0.1	0.08	0.17
≥40	1.6	2.0	2.1	1.9	2.1	0.1	0.09	0.23
Total Vegetables (5)
18.5–24.9	2.5	2.9	3.1	3.4	3.5	0.2	0.04	<0.001
25–29.9	2.6	2.9	3.1	3.5	3.5	0.2	0.03	<0.001
30–34.9	2.8	3.1	3.3	3.2	3.5	0.1	0.04	0.002
35–39.9	2.8	3.0	3.1	3.5	3.8	0.2	0.07	<0.001
≥40	2.8	2.9	3.3	3.6	3.9	0.3	0.05	<0.001
Greens and Beans (5)
18.5–24.9	1.6	1.8	2.0	2.3	2.3	0.2	0.05	0.002
25–29.9	1.8	1.8	2.1	2.5	2.3	0.2	0.05	<0.001
30–34.9	1.8	1.8	2.1	2.3	2.6	0.2	0.07	0.001
35–39.9	1.6	1.9	2.1	2.5	3.0	0.3	0.09	0.002
≥40	1.7	1.6	2.0	2.2	2.8	0.2	0.08	0.005
Whole Grains (10)
18.5–24.9	2.3	2.1	2.4	3.1	3.4	0.4	0.08	<0.001
25–29.9	2.2	2.3	3.1	3.3	3.6	0.4	0.07	<0.001
30–34.9	2.3	2.5	2.9	3.2	3.0	0.3	0.10	0.009
35–39.9	3.1	2.9	2.9	3.5	2.3	0.1	0.14	0.64
≥40	1.8	2.1	2.5	2.3	2.7	0.2	0.17	0.16
Dairy (10)
18.5–24.9	5.4	4.4	4.6	4.7	4.4	0.0	0.08	0.57
25–29.9	4.9	4.7	4.8	4.8	4.3	−0.1	0.07	0.19
30–34.9	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.8	0.0	0.09	0.59
35–39.9	4.3	4.6	4.6	4.8	3.5	0.0	0.13	0.89
≥40	4.1	4.2	4.5	4.6	4.2	0.2	0.12	0.18
Total Protein Foods (5)
18.5–24.9	4.0	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.5	0.1	0.03	0.05
25–29.9	4.2	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.5	0.0	0.02	0.03
30–34.9	4.3	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	0.0	0.03	0.48
35–39.9	4.2	4.5	4.6	4.6	4.8	0.1	0.03	0.003
≥40	4.7	4.6	4.6	5.0	4.8	0.1	0.05	0.18
Seafood and Plant Proteins (5)
18.5–24.9	2.5	2.7	2.8	3.1	3.3	0.2	0.05	<0.001
25–29.9	2.7	2.8	2.9	3.2	3.1	0.2	0.05	0.001
30–34.9	2.1	2.4	2.8	3.0	2.9	0.2	0.06	<0.001
35–39.9	2.5	3.0	3.2	3.8	4.1	0.4	0.09	<0.001
≥40	2.7	2.5	2.7	3.2	2.8	0.1	0.11	0.24
Fatty Acids (10)
18.5–24.9	4.5	5.2	5.2	5.3	6.0	0.2	0.07	0.002
25–29.9	4.5	5.1	5.1	5.7	5.6	0.3	0.07	<0.001
30–34.9	5.1	4.9	5.3	5.1	5.1	0.1	0.10	0.55
35–39.9	5.2	4.8	5.0	5.7	6.4	0.3	0.16	0.06
≥40	5.5	4.7	4.9	4.9	4.2	−0.2	0.14	0.25
Refined Grains (10)
18.5–24.9	6.2	5.7	5.8	6.3	7.3	0.4	0.09	<0.001
25–29.9	6.5	5.7	6.1	6.8	6.9	0.4	0.08	<0.001
30–34.9	6.1	5.7	5.9	6.4	6.4	0.2	0.10	0.06
35–39.9	5.9	5.8	5.9	6.8	6.5	0.3	0.11	0.006
≥40	5.9	6.0	6.2	6.6	6.8	0.2	0.14	0.09
Sodium (10)
18.5–24.9	4.8	4.3	4.2	4.1	4.4	−0.1	0.09	0.54
25–29.9	5.4	4.4	4.3	4.5	4.5	0.0	0.08	0.55
30–34.9	4.2	4.4	4.1	4.4	4.2	0.0	0.09	0.77
35–39.9	4.3	4.2	3.8	4.5	3.3	−0.1	0.10	0.43
≥40	4.2	3.7	3.2	2.6	2.5	−0.5	0.13	<0.001
Added Sugars (10)
18.5–24.9	5.7	6.1	6.4	7.3	7.4	0.5	0.07	<0.001
25–29.9	5.5	6.7	6.7	7.4	7.4	0.4	0.07	<0.001
30–34.9	6.0	6.3	6.9	6.8	6.9	0.3	0.11	0.02
35–39.9	6.6	6.0	6.7	7.2	7.6	0.4	0.13	0.003
≥40	6.3	6.2	6.8	6.8	7.6	0.3	0.12	0.01
Saturated Fats (10)
18.5–24.9	6.0	6.4	6.6	6.4	6.8	0.1	0.08	0.13
25–29.9	5.6	5.9	6.3	6.8	6.7	0.3	0.08	<0.001
30–34.9	6.4	6.4	6.1	6.6	6.8	0.1	0.11	0.36
35–39.9	5.8	6.3	5.8	6.0	5.9	−0.1	0.14	0.59
≥40	5.6	5.4	5.3	5.5	5.7	0.0	0.14	0.83

Notes: Boldface indicates statistical significance (p<0.01).

^aNon-pregnant adults ≥20 years of age who completed 2 dietary recalls were included in analyses. Estimates are adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education level, poverty income ratio, current smoking status, and recreational physical activity.

^bMaximum attainable score.

HEI, Healthy Eating Index; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.