Seven-year tracking of dietary factors in young adults: The CARDIA study

Objectives: This report determines the extent to which young adults in the highest and lowest intake quintiles of 13 nutrients remain in the same or a djacent quintiles (i.e., "tracked") relative to each other, over 7 years. Methods: Data from baseline and year 7 of the CARDIA study were divided int o race/gender-specific quintiles for each nutrient and cross-tabulated, Results: For most nutrients, over 60% of those in the lowest absolute intak e quintile at year 0 remained in the lowest or second-lowest quintile at ye ar 7. A similar pattern was seen with highest absolute intake quintiles at years 0 and 7. Tracking was attenuated when nutrient density, rather than a bsolute intake, was examined. Conclusions: Ingrained dietary habits may cause high- or low-intake groups to retain relative ranking, even in the face of secular, age-, or lifestyle -related trends in dietary intake.