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Table 4 Associations of FSA scores of meals and snacks with total dietary intakes in women (n 792)*

From: Nutritional quality of meals and snacks assessed by the Food Standards Agency nutrient profiling system in relation to overall diet quality, body mass index, and waist circumference in British adults

 

Meals and snacks based on time†

Meals and snacks based on EI contribution‡

FSA score of meals and snacks

 

FSA score of meals

FSA score of snacks

FSA score of meals

FSA score of snacks

 

β§

95% CI§

P

β§

95% CI§

P

β§

95% CI§

P

β§

95% CI§

P

β§

95% CI§

P

Food intake from meals and snacks (g/10 MJ)

 Fruits, vegetables and nuts

−44.11

−50.49, −37.72

<0.0001

−10.10

−14.39, −5.81

<0.0001

−40.62

−47.88, −33.37

<0.0001

−17.30

−21.65, −12.95

<0.0001

−57.96

−64.49, −51.43

<0.0001

 Cereals

−9.10

−12.25, −5.94

<0.0001

−1.49

−3.61, 0.63

0.17

−10.99

−14.64, −7.34

<0.0001

−1.00

−3.19, 1.19

0.37

−12.01

−15.26, −8.76

<0.0001

 Biscuits, cakes and pastries

3.63

2.53, 4.73

<0.0001

2.20

1.46, 2.94

<0.0001

3.30

2.03, 4.56

<0.0001

2.70

1.94, 3.46

<0.0001

6.31

5.17, 7.45

<0.0001

 Fish

−5.65

−7.38, −3.92

<0.0001

−2.17

−3.33, −1.01

0.0003

−6.82

−8.81, −4.83

<0.0001

−1.80

−3.00, −0.61

0.003

−8.46

−10.24, −6.69

<0.0001

 Meat

−4.80

−8.31, −1.30

0.007

−2.01

−4.36, 0.35

0.09

−6.63

−10.70, −2.56

0.001

−0.76

−3.20, 1.68

0.54

−6.95

−10.58, −3.32

0.0002

 Dairy products

−16.74

−23.40, −10.07

<0.0001

−6.71

−11.19, −2.23

0.003

−10.61

−18.35, −2.88

0.007

−10.70

−15.34, −6.05

<0.0001

−22.73

−29.66, −15.81

<0.0001

 Soft drinks

7.87

1.30, 14.44

0.02

−0.36

−4.78, 4.05

0.87

3.52

−4.11, 11.16

0.37

2.65

−1.94, 7.23

0.26

6.22

−0.59, 13.03

0.07

 Sugar, preserves and confectionery

5.19

4.22, 6.15

<0.0001

1.70

1.05, 2.34

<0.0001

1.82

0.74, 2.90

0.001

4.21

3.56, 4.85

<0.0001

7.07

6.08, 8.07

<0.0001

Nutrient intake from meals and snacks

 Protein (% of energy)

−0.54

−0.62, −0.45

<0.0001

−0.20

−0.25, −0.14

<0.0001

−0.51

−0.61, −0.41

<0.0001

−0.23

−0.29, −0.18

<0.0001

−0.76

−0.85, −0.67

<0.0001

 Fat (% of energy)

1.36

1.20, 1.53

<0.0001

0.42

0.31, 0.53

<0.0001

1.83

1.65, 2.01

<0.0001

0.16

0.05, 0.27

0.005

1.93

1.77, 2.10

<0.0001

 Saturated fatty acid (% of energy)

0.74

0.66, 0.82

<0.0001

0.25

0.20, 0.30

<0.0001

1.04

0.96, 1.13

<0.0001

0.07

0.02, 0.12

0.009

1.07

0.99, 1.15

<0.0001

 Carbohydrate (% of energy)

−0.44

−0.66, −0.22

<0.0001

−0.03

−0.17, 0.12

0.74

−1.22

−1.47, −0.98

<0.0001

0.47

0.32, 0.61

<0.0001

−0.57

−0.80, −0.35

<0.0001

 Starch (% of energy)

−0.39

−0.56, −0.21

<0.0001

−0.07

−0.19, 0.05

0.24

−0.77

−0.97, −0.57

<0.0001

0.19

0.07, 0.31

0.002

−0.53

−0.72, −0.35

<0.0001

 Total sugar (g/10 MJ)

−0.05

−0.26, 0.15

0.60

0.04

−0.09, 0.18

0.52

−0.46

−0.69, −0.22

0.0001

0.27

0.13, 0.41

0.0001

−0.04

−0.25, 0.17

0.71

 Non-milk extrinsic sugar (% of energy)

0.66

0.48, 0.83

<0.0001

0.19

0.07, 0.31

0.002

0.13

−0.07, 0.33

0.21

0.57

0.45, 0.70

<0.0001

0.86

0.67, 1.04

<0.0001

 Alcohol (% of energy)

−0.39

−0.55, −0.22

<0.0001

−0.21

−0.32, −0.09

0.0003

−0.10

−0.29, 0.10

0.33

−0.39

−0.51, −0.28

<0.0001

−0.60

−0.78, −0.43

<0.0001

 Dietary fiber (g/10 MJ)

−1.40

−1.58, −1.22

<0.0001

−0.22

−0.34, −0.10

0.0004

−1.59

−1.80, −1.39

<0.0001

−0.22

−0.34, −0.09

0.0005

−1.77

−1.95, −1.58

<0.0001

 Sodium (g/10 MJ)

−6.28

−32.36, 19.80

0.64

−7.51

−25.03, 10.02

0.40

27.76

−2.33, 57.86

0.07

−30.46

−48.52, −12.39

0.001

−11.29

−38.30, 15.72

0.41

Total EI (kJ/d)

125.1

73.6, 176.7

<0.0001

104.10

69.4, 138.7

<0.0001

130.4

71.3. 189.6

<0.0001

116.7

81.2, 152.2

<0.0001

258.2

205.0, 311.5

<0.0001

Diet quality score

 Healthy diet indicator||

−0.17

−0.21, −0.13

<0.0001

−0.05

−0.08, −0.03

0.0001

−0.22

−0.26, −0.18

<0.0001

−0.03

−0.06, −0.01

0.02

−0.24

−0.28, −0.20

<0.0001

 Mediterranean diet score¶

−0.20

−0.25, −0.15

<0.0001

−0.05

−0.09, −0.02

0.002

−0.24

−0.29, −0.18

<0.0001

−0.05

−0.08, −0.01

0.005

−0.28

−0.33, −0.23

<0.0001

  1. FSA, Food Standards Agency; EI, energy intake
  2. *Adjustment was made for age (years, continuous) and social class (manual or non-manual). Both FSA score of meals and FSA score of snacks based on the same definition were entered simultaneously into the regression model. FSA scores ranging from −15 to 40, with a lower score reflecting a better nutritional quality
  3. †Meals were defined as eating events reported during select times of the day (0600–1000, 1200–1500, and 1800–2100 h); all other eating occasions were considered as snacks
  4. ‡A meal was defined as any eating episode comprising ≥15% of total EI, regardless of the time of day or composition of foods and beverages consumed; all other eating episodes were classified as snacks
  5. §Regression coefficients mean the change of dietary variables with 1-unit increase of FSA diet score
  6. || Possible score ranging from 0 to 7. A higher score reflecting a better diet quality
  7. ¶Possible score ranging from 0 to 9. A higher score reflecting a better diet quality