What is "healthy" food? A cross-sectional evaluation of foods and beverages consumed by United States adults that satisfy the United States Food and Drug Administration's updated "healthy" claim criteria.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently updated criteria for the "healthy" claim displayed on foods and beverages in the United States. However, it is unknown how updated criteria compare with existing methods for evaluating the healthfulness of foods and beverages.

Objectives

To evaluate correlation between "healthy" criteria and 3 nutrient profiling models used to evaluate food and beverage healthfulness, and with Nova food processing classification. Exploratory analyses compare the nutritional profile of "healthy" items and items not meeting "healthy" criteria.

Methods

In this cross-sectional analysis, we identified individual "healthy" items reported in the 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We used descriptive statistic

SUBMITTER: Tucker AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12842601 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature