Objective: Little is known about the dietary intake of adults living in Puerto Rico (PR). We aimed to assess nutrients and food intake and factors correlated with diet quality among adults in PR.
Design: Cross-sectional study
Setting: Primary care settings
Participants: Puerto Rico Assessment of Diet, Lifestyle, and Diseases participants (n=248; ages 30-75y) with dietary data using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Diet quality was defined using the Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI; range 0-110 indicating lower-higher quality). Linear regression models determined AHEI by sociodemographic and lifestyle factors.
Results: Most PR adults met the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for iron, folate, and vitamins B12 and B6; 61% met magnesium and 56% met calcium EAR. Only 4% met the EAR for vitamin D and 7% met the adequate intake for potassium. Main contributors to total energy intake were sugary beverages (11.8%), sweets/desserts (10.2%), dairy (8.5%), mixed dishes (7.6%), starches (6.3%), fast foods (5.5%), and rice (4.9%). Mean (SD) AHEI score was 59.8 (11.0). The lowest AHEI components for which recommended servings were met were red/processed meats (1.2%), fruit (2.4%), sodium (2.4%), sugary beverages (3.2%), and polyunsaturated fats (5.4%), and the highest were nuts/legumes (29.8%), omega-3 fats (21.3%), and whole grains (21.0%). Significantly higher AHEI scores were noted for older (vs. younger) adults, other ethnicities (vs. Puerto Rican), single (vs. married/divorced/widowed), some college or higher education, and never/formerly smoking.
Conclusions: Adults living in PR report some healthy and some unhealthy dietary intakes, providing an opportunity to improve diet at the population level.
