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Food and health

Dietary diversity and healthy life expectancy—an international comparative study

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Abstract

Background/Objectives

The prolongation of healthy life expectancy (HALE) is a core issue of health policy in many countries. The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between dietary diversity and HALE using international databases.

Materials/Methods

HALE data by country were derived from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2015 database. Average food supply (g/day/capita) and energy supply (kcal/day/capita) by country, excluding loss between production and household, were obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Statistics Division database. Each food was sorted across 12 food groups, and dietary diversity was obtained from food groups using the Quantitative Index for Dietary Diversity (QUANTIDD). The cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between QUANTIDD and HALE were examined in the countries with populations of one million or greater.

Results

Cross-sectional analysis showed that HALE was significantly associated with QUANTIDD (β = 99.9 ± 11.4, p < 0.001) in the single regression model and in the multiple regression model controlled for covariates (β = 36.4 ± 11.3, p = 0.002). Longitudinal analysis showed that HALE increased with QUANTIDD during the 15-year study period (β = 46.4 ± 5.1, p < 0.001), and this association was also significant when controlled for covariates (β = 39.7 ± 5.1, p < 0.001). Longitudinal association of QUANTIDD with the percentage difference between life expectancy and HALE controlled for covariates was significantly negative (β = − 1.3 ± 0.5, p = 0.011).

Conclusions

After controlling for socioeconomic indicators, longer healthy life is enjoyed by populations of countries with greater dietary diversity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Nutritional Science, Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences, Aichi, Japan

    Keiko Miyamoto, Fumiya Kawase & Hiroshi Shimokata

  2. Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts, Kyoto, Japan

    Tomoko Imai & Ayako Sezaki

Authors
  1. Keiko Miyamoto
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  2. Fumiya Kawase
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  3. Tomoko Imai
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  4. Ayako Sezaki
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  5. Hiroshi Shimokata
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Correspondence to Keiko Miyamoto.

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Miyamoto, K., Kawase, F., Imai, T. et al. Dietary diversity and healthy life expectancy—an international comparative study. Eur J Clin Nutr 73, 395–400 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0270-3

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