CHARACTERIZING FOOD-INTAKE PATTERNS OF AMERICAN ADULTS

Food-pattern analysis provides a way to examine diets in a multidimens ional context. This study examined the diets of 8181 adults in the 198 9-1991 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals and evaluated whether they met the federal recommendations for each of five food gro ups. The sample was partitioned among 32 different food-intake pattern s, six of which represented 44% of the population. Nutrient profiles a ssociated with each of the patterns indicated that failure to meet one or more of the food-group recommendations was associated with nutrien t inadequacy, macronutrient imbalance, or both. A reexamination of the data to account for low energy reporters did not alter these findings . The pattern of meeting all five of the food-group recommendations wa s among the least common, accounting for only 1% of adults' intakes.