How do I interpret a Diet ID assessment report?
The Diet ID score is a measure of diet quality -- how healthy the participant's diet is today. The scale is 1-10, with 10 being the highest quality and 1 being the lowest quality. The average American is between a 5 and a 6 on our 10 point scale. Our 10-point scale is derived directly from the Healthy Eating Index 2020 scoring system which is a validated measure of how closely someone's diet aligns with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It takes into account food groups and nutrients that correlate with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and scientifically established dietary health risks.
The IDEAL or GOAL Diet score: is an overall diet quality score of how healthy someone's GOAL diet is. Our system recommends that people's goal way of eating be at least has high quality as their current way of eating. The GOAL Diet score doesn't have to be a perfect 10. We simply recommend it be equal or higher than your current diet quality score.
Change in Diet ID Quality Score: If you see an improvement in Diet ID score over time, this can be interpreted as an improvement in diet quality, a leading indicator for overall health. If the improvement is persistent, you will likely see other biometric changes downstream.
Food Group Changes: In your report, you may see food group changes listed as follows.
The food groups under the heading "Increase" are the food groups the person should increase each day. The food groups under the heading "decrease" are the food groups the person should reduce each day. If you only have less than 1 minute to discuss nutrition with your client or patient, you can focus on discussing these food group changes.
If you have 2 minutes to discuss nutrition, you can discuss the specific food group changes from this chart.
Each food group will show 3 values. The first column is the current intake of that food group by number of servings. The middle column is the GOAL intake by number of servings. The right-most column is the CHANGE in servings, with red indicating DECREASE and green indicating INCREASE. If you are unsure of what a serving of any food group looks like, you can always hover over the 'i" to get a tip about the serving size.
Nutrient Changes:
Diet ID's assessment and goal setting modules provide estimated intake of dozens of nutrients. This calculation is based on the image selections made by the individual as well as the self-reported biometric inputs. The nutrient quantities listed in the ID column represent CURRENT nutrient intake from food. the nutrient quantities listen in the IDEAL column represent GOAL nutrient intake from food.
The indicators help you quickly identify if any nutrient is within range or out of range. If a nutrient has a red exclamation point:
this means this nutrient is out of recommended range. Mouse over the "i" next to the nutrient to learn more about the appropriate range and where this nutrient is typically found.
If a nutrient has a green check mark:
this means this nutrient is within recommended range.
Certain nutrients are more important to discuss than others depending on the context or health condition of the patient. For example, heart failure patients should focus on Sodium, among other nutrients. Those who suffer from Type 2 Diabetes should focus on Dietary Fiber and added sugar, among other nutrients. If you plan to discuss nutrients with your patients / clients, be sure to contextualize any recommended changes by focusing on the food group changes the system recommends. Changing these food groups to one's goal will ensure the nutrient goals are also met.
Sample Mean Plan
Each person's report, if they have a goal diet, is accompanied by a sample meal plan. This is a sample 1-day plan designed to act as a guide for what someone should be eating in order to reach their goal. This plan is standardized to 2,000 calories so when providing specific guidance, be sure to discuss any portion size changes to meet any calorie requirements.
This meal plan file is a PDF, so it can easily be downloaded, printed, or emailed.