title: The contribution of milk and milk products to micronutrient density and affordability of the U.S. diet.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To be successful, dietary guidance needs to identify foods that are nutrient rich, affordable, and appealing. Analyses of dietary surveys on "what we eat in America" can now be supplemented by analyses of nutrient density as well as nutrient cost.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To explore the relative contribution of 9 food groups to energy and nutrient intakes and to assess the relative cost of selected nutrients by major food group.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dietary intake data were provided by the 4 cycles of the continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2001-2002, 2003-2004, 2005-2006, and 2007-2008). Research on the nutritive value and cost of U.S. foods was made possible by the merging of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS 2.0) with the USDA food prices database. Nutrient densities were calculated per 100 kcal. Nutrient costs were calculated as the dollar cost of meeting 10% daily value for a given nutrient.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Despite their low energy contribution (10%-13% of energy), milk and milk products contributed 47% of calcium, 42% of retinol, and 65% of vitamin D to the diets of children and adults. Milk and milk products were among the top sources of riboflavin, phosphorous, and vitamin B(12). Cost analyses showed that milk and milk products were by far the lowest-cost source of dietary calcium and were among the lowest-cost sources of riboflavin and vitamin B(12). Vegetables and fruit were the lowest-cost sources of vitamin C, whereas dry beans and legumes were the lowest-cost sources of fiber.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The nutrients-per-calorie and nutrient cost metrics can help identify affordable nutrient-rich foods.
authors.affiliation: Center for Public Health Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-3410, USA. adamdrew@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Drewnowski
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003611:Dairy Products / Q000191:economics*; D004032:Diet / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005504:Food Analysis; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry / Q000191:economics; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000453:epidemiology; D018977:Micronutrients / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000191:economics; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009753:Nutritive Value; D014481:United States; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry / Q000191:economics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004043:Dietary Fiber; D018977:Micronutrients