Appendix E-2.25 Average Healthy Eating Index-2010 scores for Americans ages 2 years and older (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2010)

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Average HEI scores by age group and by sex*
HEI-2010 components 2-3y n=477 4-8y n=958 9-13y n=887 14-18y n=802 19-30y n=1242 31-50y n=1979 51-70y n=1771 >=71y n=926 >=2y n=9042 All Males n=4501 All Females n=4541
Total Fruit (of 5 pts total) 5.0 4.6 3.2 2.8 2.6 2.8 3.5 4.6 3.3 2.9 3.8
Percent 100 92 64 56 52 56 70 92 66 58 76
Whole Fruit (5 pts) 5.0 4.2 3.0 2.5 2.0 3.0 3.7 4.9 3.3 2.8 3.7
Percent 100 84 60 50 40 60 74 98 66 56 74
Total Vegetables (5 pts) 2.1 2.0 2.1 2.5 2.9 3.5 4.0 4.0 3.3 3.0 3.5
Percent 42 40 42 50 58 70 80 80 66 60 70
Greens and Beans (5 pts) 1.0 0.9 1.2 0.9 1.8 2.5 3.4 3.0 2.3 1.9 2.8
Percent 20 18 24 18 36 50 68 60 46 38 56
Whole grains (10 pts) 3.3 2.6 2.0 1.8 1.7 2.7 3.0 3.6 2.5 2.3 2.8
Percent 33 26 20 18 17 27 30 36 25 23 28
Dairy (10 pts) 10.0 10.0 8.9 7.7 6.4 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.9 6.7 7.2
Percent 100 100 89 77 64 62 63 64 69 67 72
Total Protein Foods (5 pts) 3.9 4.0 4.2 4.8 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
Percent 78 80 84 96 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Seafood/Plant Proteins (5 pts) 3.0 2.2 2.5 2.5 3.3 4.8 5.0 5.0 4.2 4.0 4.4
Percent 60 44 50 50 66 96 100 100 84 80 88
Fatty Acids (10 pts) 2.2 2.8 3.1 3.8 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.8 4.1 4.1 4.2
Percent 22 28 31 38 43 44 45 48 41 41 42
Refined Grains (10 pts) 7.5 5.1 3.6 4.3 5.6 6.5 7.2 6.9 6.1 6.1 6.0
Percent 75 51 36 43 56 65 72 69 61 61 60
Sodium (10 pts) 5.8 5.0 4.4 3.6 3.9 3.6 3.2 3.6 3.7 3.7 3.8
Percent 58 50 44 36 39 36 32 36 37 37 38
Empty Calories (20 pts) 13.7 11.6 10.5 10.6 11.1 12.3 12.9 13.9 12.1 11.8 12.3
Percent 69 58 53 53 56 62 65 70 61 59 62
Total HEI2010 Score (100 pts) 62.5 54.9 48.7 47.8 50.5 57.4 61.6 65.8 56.6 54.4 59.5
Overall Percent 63 55 49 48 51 57 62 66 57 54 60

*HEI-2010 scores estimated based on day 1 dietary recalls, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2009-2010. Intakes of energy, fatty acids, sodium, and alcohol calculated using the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies, version 5.0. Food group intakes for 2009-10 were calculated using the Food Patterns Equivalents Database, 2009-2010.

DATA SOURCE: What We Eat in America, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2009-2010
Prepared by the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, U.S. Department of Agriculture.