Learn Glossary epidemiology

Healthy Eating Index

Scoring system that measures how well a diet conforms to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Also: HEI

HEI scores from 0 to 100 across 13 components (adequacy components scored positively, moderation components scored inversely). It is used to evaluate population diet quality from NHANES data and is a common outcome measure in nutrition research and policy evaluation.

How one textbook covers it

  • Krause and Mahan's Food and the Nutrition Care Process, 16th ed.Chapter 10

    HEI scores from 0 to 100 across 13 components (adequacy components scored positively, moderation components scored inversely). It is used to evaluate population diet quality from NHANES data and is a common outcome measure in nutrition research and policy evaluation.

Related terms

Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Mediterranean Diet, NHANES