title: Whole Grains Contribute Only a Small Proportion of Dietary Fiber to the U.S. Diet.
abstract: Dietary fiber (DF), found in whole fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (WG), is considered a nutrient of concern in the US diet and increased consumption is recommended. The present study was designed to highlight this critical importance of the difference between WG, high-fiber WG, and sources of fiber that are not from WG. The study is based on the two-day diets reported consumed by the nationally representative sample of Americans participating in What We Eat In America, the dietary component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2003-2010. Foods consumed were classified into tertiles of DF and WG and the contribution of fiber by differing levels of WG content were examined. Foods containing high amounts of WG and DF only contributed about 7% of total fiber intake. Overall, grain-based foods contributed 54.5% of all DF consumed. Approximately 39% of DF came from grain foods that contained no WG, rather these foods contained refined grains, which contain only small amounts of DF but are consumed in large quantities. All WG-containing foods combined contributed a total of 15.3% of DF in the American diet. Thus, public health messaging needs to be changed to specifically encourage consumption of WG foods with high levels of DF to address both recommendations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA. sibylle.kranz@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Sibylle
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kranz
authors.affiliation: National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. doddk@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Kevin W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Dodd
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Assessment and Evaluation, Office of Nutrition and Food Labeling, Center for Food and Applied Nutrition, United States Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD 20740, USA. wenyen.juan@fda.hhs.gov.
authors.forename: Wen Yen
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Juan
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Grand Forks, ND 58203, USA. luann.johnson@ars.usda.gov.
authors.forename: LuAnn K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Grand Forks, ND 58203, USA. lisa.jahns@ars.usda.gov.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jahns
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D011634:Public Health; D064167:Recommended Dietary Allowances; D012307:Risk Factors; D018401:Sample Size; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D000067348:Whole Grains; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Dietary Guidelines for Americans; dietary fiber; healthy diet; nutrition monitoring; sources of dietary fiber; whole grain intake