A recent study found that almost everyone believes their diet is healthier than it is. In fact, just 15% of the roughly 10,000 persons studied by researchers were able to determine how nutritious their diet was.
Additionally, individuals with the worse diets understood how unhealthy their diet was the best! Nearly all of the 85% who got it wrong, most (99%) overestimated its healthfulness.
Self-rated healthiness is a predictor of poor health
In other investigations, self-reported healthiness has been demonstrated to be a substantial predictor of poor health and mortality. Still, nothing is known about how accurate self-rated dietary habits are. In light of this, researchers from the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture sought to investigate how healthy self-rated meals generally are.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Assessment, an every two years survey of American people that is nationally representative provided the data for the research. The 24-hour dietary questionnaires required participants to rank their diet as poor, fair, good, very good, and excellent.
Vegetables and fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, healthy fats, seafood, and plant proteins were among the food categories rated as being healthier. Conversely, refined grains and diets heavy in sodium, saturated fats, or added sugars were seen as less nutritious foods.
Only a few Americans assess the healthfulness of their diet
Lead author Jessica Thomson stated, “We found that only a small percentage of U.S. adults can accurately assess the healthfulness of their diet, and interestingly, it’s mostly those who perceive their diet as poor who are able to accurately assess their diet. Additionally, most adults overrate the quality of their diet, sometimes to a substantial degree.”
Researchers found significant discrepancies between the estimated scores and how people graded their diets. Out of over 9,700 participants, almost 8,000 (or 85%) had an incorrect impression of the caliber of their food. In this group, almost everyone claimed that their diet was healthier than it actually was. Unexpectedly, people who had a “poor” diet showed the highest level of accuracy.
