Determinants of Diet Quality in Adolescents: Results from the Prospective Population-Based EVA-Tyrol and EVA4YOU Cohorts

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 15; no. 24; p. 5140
• Main Authors: Mueller, Katharina, Messner, Alex, Nairz, Johannes, Winder, Bernhard, Staudt, Anna, Stock, Katharina, Gande, Nina, Hochmayr, Christoph, Bernar, Benoît, Pechlaner, Raimund, Griesmacher, Andrea, Egger, Alexander E, Geiger, Ralf, Kiechl-Kohlendorfer, Ursula, Knoflach, Michael, Kiechl, Sophia J, On Behalf Of The Eva-Tyrol And Eva You Study Groups
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.12.2023
• Subjects: Adolescent; adolescents; AHEI-2010; Chronic illnesses; DASH score; Diet - methods; diet quality; Eating behavior; Educational Status; Exercise; Female; Health surveys; Humans; nutrition knowledge; Prospective Studies; Socioeconomic factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teenagers; Youth; Austria; United States > US; Italy; nutrition knowledge; AHEI-2010; adolescents; DASH score; diet quality
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu15245140

(1) Background: Unhealthy dietary behaviors are estimated to be one of the leading causes of death globally and are often shaped at a young age. Here, we investigated adolescent diet quality and its predictors, including nutrition knowledge, in two large Central European cohorts. (2) Methods: In 3056 participants of the EVA-Tyrol and EVA4YOU prospective population-based cohort studies aged 14 to 19 years, diet quality was assessed using the AHEI-2010 and DASH scores, and nutrition knowledge was assessed using the questionnaire from Turconi et al. Associations were examined utilizing multivariable linear regression. (3) Results: The mean overall AHEI-2010 score was 42%, and the DASH score was 45%. Female participants (60.6%) had a significantly higher diet quality according to the AHEI-2010 and DASH score. AHEI-2010 and DASH scores were significantly associated ( < 0.001) with sex, school type, smoking, and total daily energy intake. The DASH score was additionally significantly associated ( < 0.001) with age, socioeconomic status, and physical activity. Participants with better nutrition knowledge were more likely to be older, to attend a general high school, to live in a high-income household, to be non-smokers, and to have a higher diet quality according to the AHEI-2010 and DASH score. (4) Conclusions: Predictors of better diet quality included female sex, physical activity, educational level, and nutrition knowledge. These results may aid focused interventions to improve diet quality in adolescents.