1. Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Patricia M. Guenther, PhD, RD: US Department of Agriculture,
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
Jill Reedy, PhD, RD: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Susan M. Krebs-Smith, PhD, RD: NCI
Bryce B. Reeve, PhD: NCI
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION

2. Tests Content validity Construct validity
Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Tests
Content validity
Construct validity
Internal consistency (reliability)

3. Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Content validity
Extent to which the measure captures the variety of attributes that make up the construct
Includes face validity
Test
Check against Dietary Guidelines

4. Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Construct validity
Extent to which the measure is consistent with theoretical hypotheses
Tests
Exemplary menus
Smokers vs nonsmokers
Correlations with energy
Principal components analysis

5. Sources of exemplary menus
Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Sources of exemplary menus
MyPyramid.gov
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Eating Plan
Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating
American Heart Association No-Fad Diet

6. Healthy Eating Index-2005 scores for exemplary menus
Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Healthy Eating Index-2005 scores for exemplary menus
MyPyramid
DASH
Harvard
AHA
Total Grains 5
4.8
Whole Grains
Total Vegetables
Dark Green/Orange Vegetables & Legumes
4.9
Total Fruit
Whole Fruit
Milk 10
0.9
8.7
Meat & Beans
Oils
Sodium
Saturated Fat
Calories from SoFAAS 20
Total
100
99.8
90.9
98.6
SoFAAS: Solid Fats, Alcoholic beverages, and Added Sugars

7. Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Population data used
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,
N = 8650
One 24-hour recall per respondent
Nutrients
MyPyramid food groups

8. Concurrent criterion validity
Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Concurrent criterion validity
Distinguishes between groups with known differences in the quality of their diets
Test
Smokers vs nonsmokers

9. Smokers vs nonsmokers Number of differences in mean component scores
Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Smokers vs nonsmokers
Number of differences in mean component scores
Original Healthy Eating Index 5 of 10
Healthy Eating Index of 12
Differences in mean total score
Original Healthy Eating Index points
Healthy Eating Index points
Conclusion: Healthy Eating Index-2005 distinguishes between smokers and nonsmokers better than original Healthy Eating Index

10. Correlations of original Healthy Eating Index scores and energy intake
Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Correlations of original Healthy Eating Index scores and energy intake
Component scores
Fruit
Vegetables, Milk, Variety, Meat, Grains to .44
Fat, Saturated fat (% calories) to .09
Cholesterol
Sodium
Total score
Low because some food-group correlations are positive
and others negative

11. Correlations of Healthy Eating Index-2005 scores and energy intake
Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Correlations of Healthy Eating Index-2005 scores and energy intake
Component scores
Calories from SoFAAS -.22
Sodium, Saturated Fat -.08 to -.11
Vegetables, Grains, Fruit -.05 to -.10
Milk 0
Oils, Meat and Beans .06 to .08
Total score -.14
Low because all component correlations are low
Conclusion: Healthy Eating Index-2005 successfully uncouples diet quantity and diet quality
SoFAAS: Solid Fats, Alcoholic beverages, and Added Sugars

12. Principal component analysis scree plot
Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Principal component analysis scree plot
Variance accounted for by each factor
Number of factors
Eigenvalue 
Conclusion: Multiple factors underlie the Healthy Eating Index-2005

13. Types of reliability Test-retest reliability does not apply
Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Types of reliability
Test-retest reliability does not apply
All sources of error attributable to
Respondent recall
Data collection and coding
Inter-rater reliability does not apply
No judgment required
Internal consistency
Only type that could be tested

14. Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Internal consistency
Degree of association among the components of an index
Test
Cronbach’s alpha coefficient

15. Internal consistency Cronbach’s coefficient alpha = 0.43
Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Internal consistency
Cronbach’s coefficient alpha = 0.43
Anticipated to be low because
Healthy Eating Index-2005 components
Do not all measure the same thing
Relationships among them vary
Conclusion: Healthy Eating Index-2005 is best used as a set of profile scores; otherwise, much information will be lost

16. The Healthy Eating Index-2005
Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2005
Conclusions
The Healthy Eating Index-2005
Is a valid measure of compliance with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Yields high scores for exemplary menus
Distinguishes between groups with known differences in diet quality
Uncouples diet quality and diet quantity by using a density approach
Provides a valid set of profile scores for assessing diet quality