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Good News for Whole Grains

Diet quality has improved, but much more needs to be done.

Whole grains

The average American Heart Association healthy-diet score for U.S. adults improved between 2003–2004 and 2015–2016, according to the AHA Statistical Update 2020. Two scales were used to measure diet quality. On one of them, scores for a poor diet decreased from 56% to 47.8%; on the second, poor diet prevalence dropped from 43.7% to 36.4%.

The improvement was attributed to people reducing their intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and eating more whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes. Unfortunately, results showed no significant change in adult consumption of fruits, vegetables, fish, shellfish, sodium, processed meat or saturated fat between the two time frames.


Patricia Ryan, MS

Patricia Ryan, MS, develops educational content for leaders and professionals in the wellness, fitness and older-adult marketplaces. Ryan has conducted market research and authored numerous white papers, survey reports, industry analyses and research reviews along with producing educational webinars. She holds a master’s of science degree in instructional technology aimed at designing professional education. She was IDEA’s first editor in chief and developed the Gold Standard of content for which IDEA is still known.

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