52 Diet Quality Statistics

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These diet quality figures cover the measurement periods and populations identified in the available source material. Estimates, surveys and forecasts retain their reported scope.

Key Diet Quality Statistics

The main findings are:

  • The 2018 global mean Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) score was 40.3 on a 0–100 scale (95% UI 39.4–41.3) (185-country global estimate).
  • The share of U.S. adults with poor diet quality fell from 48.8% in 1999 to 37.4% in 2020 (1999–2020; United States adults).
  • Among U.S. adults from 1999 to 2010, the AHEI-2010 sugar-sweetened-beverage and fruit-juice component score increased by 0.9 points (1999–2010).
  • Dietary risks were associated with 11 million deaths globally in 2017 (95% UI 10–12 million) (Global adults).
  • A 20-percentile improvement in diet-quality score was associated with an 8%–17% lower risk of total mortality across three diet indices (Follow-up cohorts; publication 2017; Prospective cohort populations).
  • The 2018 AHEI regional mean was 30.3 in Latin America and the Caribbean (95% UI 28.7–32.2).
  • The share of U.S. adults with intermediate diet quality rose from 50.6% in 1999 to 61.1% in 2020 (1999–2020; United States adults).
  • The U.S. adult whole-fruit AHEI-2010 component score increased by 0.7 points from 1999 to 2010 (1999–2010; U.S. adults).
  • Dietary risks accounted for 22% of all adult deaths globally in 2017 (95% UI 21%–24%) (Global adults).
  • A 20-percentile improvement in AHEI or alternate Mediterranean score was associated with a 7%–15% lower risk of cardiovascular mortality (Follow-up cohorts; publication 2017; Prospective cohort populations).
  • The 2018 AHEI regional mean was 45.7 in South Asia (95% UI 43.8–49.3).
  • The share of U.S. adults with ideal diet quality increased from 0.66% in 1999 to 1.58% in 2020 (1999–2020; United States adults).
  • The U.S. adult whole-grain AHEI-2010 component score increased by 0.5 points from 1999 to 2010 (1999–2010; U.S. adults).
  • Dietary risks were associated with 255 million DALYs globally in 2017 (95% UI 234–274 million) (Global adults).
  • In a 77,004-person UK Biobank analysis, higher diet quality was associated with lower all-cause mortality regardless of genetic cardiovascular-risk level (UK Biobank follow-up; publication 2021; UK Biobank adults).

Contents

Global diet quality statistics by country and region

Modelled estimate from the Global Dietary Database; AHEI is not the same metric as HEI-2015.

Regional model estimate with uncertainty interval.

Range is across regional means, not individual people or every country.

Coverage describes the modelled dataset, not a direct survey in every country-year.

U.S. diet quality statistics across adults and children

NHANES-based category estimates using the study’s AHA 2020 continuous diet score; category cut-points are not HEI scores.

Serial cross-sectional survey estimates; intermediate is the study’s AHA category.

The ideal category is defined by the AHA score used in the study, not by a universal clinical standard.

Change is reported by the study; it does not establish causation.

Change is reported by the study; category boundaries remained study-specific.

Small absolute prevalence; estimate includes the study’s 95% CI in the original report.

NHANES serial cross-sectional estimates; HEI measures alignment with Dietary Guidelines, not health outcomes directly.

Relative change calculated and reported by the study; it remains an observational survey trend.

AHA primary score categories, not HEI categories.

The score weights selected foods and nutrients; it is not interchangeable with HEI-2015.

A separate AHA score with a different maximum and component set.

Study-reported relative change; not a causal intervention effect.

Trend is from an analysis summarized in the official guidelines; HEI-2010 is an earlier index version.

Life-stage average shown in Dietary Guidelines chart; it is not an individual target or clinical diagnosis.

Life-stage average shown in Dietary Guidelines chart.

A higher component score reflects lower intake for this moderation component; the study is serial cross-sectional.

Component-score trend, not a direct grams-per-day estimate.

Component score is energy-adjusted within the index; it is not a population percentage.

Component-score trend, not a direct servings-per-day estimate.

High-quality carbohydrate classification follows the study; 24-hour recalls are subject to reporting error.

Study-defined plant-protein estimate from serial dietary recalls.

Small population-average change; estimates rely on dietary recall data.

Estimates rely on dietary recall data and are not a measure of total diet quality by themselves.

Dietary risk statistics for deaths and disease burden

GBD comparative-risk estimate; association and attributable burden do not prove that each death was caused by one food.

Attributable-fraction model with uncertainty interval.

DALYs combine years lived with disability and years of life lost; GBD model estimate.

GBD dietary-risk estimate; it is not a count of deaths with sodium recorded as the sole cause.

GBD comparative-risk estimate with wide uncertainty interval.

GBD estimate of attributable burden, not a direct mortality registry category.

GBD comparative-risk estimate with uncertainty interval.

GBD estimate of attributable burden.

Leading-risk ranking depends on GBD definitions, comparative risk distributions, and model uncertainty.

Leading-risk ranking depends on GBD definitions and model uncertainty.

Age-standardized GBD estimate; it is not the crude death rate.

Age-standardized GBD estimate with uncertainty interval.

Diet quality statistics for cardiovascular and mortality outcomes

  • A 20-percentile improvement in diet-quality score was associated with an 8%–17% lower risk of total mortality across three diet indices (Follow-up cohorts; publication 2017; Prospective cohort populations). (Association of Changes in Diet…)
  • A 20-percentile improvement in AHEI or alternate Mediterranean score was associated with a 7%–15% lower risk of cardiovascular mortality (Follow-up cohorts; publication 2017; Prospective cohort populations). (Association of Changes in Diet…)
  • In a 77,004-person UK Biobank analysis, higher diet quality was associated with lower all-cause mortality regardless of genetic cardiovascular-risk level (UK Biobank follow-up; publication 2021; UK Biobank adults). (Diet quality indices, genetic risk…)

Observational associations; a percentile-score change is not a prescribed diet intervention.

Observational associations and residual confounding are possible.

Cohort association; the statement does not quantify a causal effect or guarantee benefit for an individual.

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