Fast-food consumption, diet quality and body weight: cross-sectional and prospective associations in a community sample of working adults

Objective To examine the association between fast-food consumption, diet quality and body weight in a community sample of working adults. Design Cross-sectional and prospective analysis of anthropometric, survey and dietary data from adults recruited to participate in a worksite nutrition intervention. Participants self-reported frequency of fast-food consumption per week. Nutrient intakes and diet quality, using the Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010), were computed from dietary recalls collected at baseline and 6 months. Setting Metropolitan medical complex, Minneapolis, MN, USA. Subjects Two hundred adults, aged 18-60 years. Results Cross-sectionally, fast-food consumption was significantly associated with higher daily total energy intake (=725, P=0005), empty calories (=040, P=0006) and BMI (=073, P=0011), and lower HEI-2010 score (=-123, P=0012), total vegetables (=-014, P=0004), whole grains (=-039, P=0005), fibre (=-083, P=0002), Mg (=-699, P=0019) and K (=-575, P=0016). Over 6 months, change in fast-food consumption was not significantly associated with changes in energy intake or BMI, but was significantly inversely associated with total intake of vegetables (=-014, P=0034). Conclusions Frequency of fast-food consumption was significantly associated with higher energy intake and poorer diet quality cross-sectionally. Six-month change in fast-food intake was small, and not significantly associated with overall diet quality or BMI.