Assessment of the healthy dietary diversity of a main meal in a self-service restaurant A pilot study

• Published in: British food journal (1966) Vol. 117; no. 1; pp. 286 - 301
• Main Authors: Bernardo, Greyce Luci, Proenca, Rossana Pacheco da Costa, Calvo, Maria Cristina Marino, Fiates, Giovanna MR, Hartwell, Heather
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2015
• Subjects: Assessments; Bulging; Energy density; Foods; Meals; Pilots; Proposals; Restaurants
• ISSN: 0007-070X
• DOI: 10.1108/BFJ-08-2013-0215

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present a first proposal of a healthy dietary diversity index to evaluate meals in self-service restaurants. Design/methodology/approach - This was a cross-sectional, descriptive pilot study in a Brazilian buffet-style restaurant. The study group was selected by systematic sampling and consisted of 678 individuals aged 16-81 years, who were regular diners at a selected restaurant during lunchtime. Photographs were used to assess food choices and a sociodemographic questionnaire was administered to the subjects. A healthy dietary diversity model was created following WHO recommendations and the Brazilian Food Guide. A consensus workshop was conducted with experts to discuss and classify certain dishes as more or less healthy (high/low energy density). The model attributed negative (-3.0-0.0) and positive (0.0-12.0) scores to different food groups. Higher scores meant greater diversity on the plate, and therefore a greater chance of a healthy meal (=9.0), while a lower score reflected a higher variety of energy-dense foods, such as fried dishes (=6.0). Findings - Most diner's plates (65.3 per cent) obtained low diversity score indexes (=6) and were considered inadequate, represented the dishes where intake should be controlled from a nutritional viewpoint (over caloric meal). There was a significant association between healthy diversity scores (=9.0) and low variety of high energy density dishes on the plates. Originality/value - This method of assessing the healthy dietary diversity of a main meal could be tested as an innovative model for investigating the food choices of individuals who eat away from home.