Healthy Eating Index

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From 2017 to 2018, people aged 2 years and older scored 57.4 on the Healthy Eating Index score range of 0 - 100.

Summary graph for Healthy Eating Index, Click to see detailed view of graph

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Background

Poor diet quality is associated with an increased risk of cancer. Measuring total diet quality is complex, so some analyses have focused only on individual dietary constituents. However, such a reductionist approach may provide limited information, so a more integrated approach that captures the total diet, or dietary pattern, is useful. The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is a measure of overall diet quality, independent of diet quantity, that measures alignment with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Measure

The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) provides a total diet score on a scale from 0 to 100 points. The HEI is a scoring metric that can be used to determine overall diet quality as well as the quality of several dietary components. View more information about the HEI.

Healthy People 2030 Target

  • There is no Healthy People target for the Healthy Eating Index.

Healthy People 2030 is a set of goals set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Data Source

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(link is external), 1994–2018.

Trends and Most Recent EstimatesHelp with navigating the graphs and data tables

By Sex

Average Healthy Eating Index score among persons aged 2 years and older by sex, 2001-2018
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2017 to 2018)
HEI-2015 Score 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Average Healthy Eating Index score among  persons aged 2 years and older by sex, 2001-2018 Both SexesClick to see the detailed trend graph for Both Sexes 57.4 55.6 - 59.3
MaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Male 55.8 53.9 - 57.7
FemaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Female 59.5 57.5 - 61.4

By Race/Ethnicity

Average Healthy Eating Index score among persons aged 2 years and older by race/ethnicity, 2001-2018
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2017 to 2018)
HEI-2015 Score 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Average Healthy Eating Index score among  persons aged 2 years and older by race/ethnicity, 2001-2018 All Races/EthnicitiesClick to see the detailed trend graph for All Races/Ethnicities 57.4 55.6 - 59.3
Non-Hispanic WhiteClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic White 56.1 53.3 - 58.9
Non-Hispanic BlackClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Black 55.1 52.1 - 57.9
HispanicClick to see the detailed trend graph for Hispanic 59.9 57.9 - 61.8

By Poverty Income Level

Average Healthy Eating Index score among persons aged 2 years and older by poverty income level, 2001-2018
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2017 to 2018)
HEI-2015 Score 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Average Healthy Eating Index score among  persons aged 2 years and older by poverty income level, 2001-2018 <200% of Federal Poverty LevelClick to see the detailed trend graph for <200% of Federal Poverty Level 56.1 53.7 - 58.6
>=200% of Federal Poverty LevelClick to see the detailed trend graph for >=200% of Federal Poverty Level 58.3 56.3 - 60.4

Additional Information on Healthy Eating Index

Year Range

2001-2018

Recent Summary Trend Year Range

2013-2018

Summary Tables

Diet

Recent Summary Trend

Rising

Desired Direction

Rising