INTRODUCTION

The consumption of certain foods and healthy eating habits are related to preventing and suffering from a number of chronic diseases. These foods tend to be included in food pyramids, such as that proposed by the Spanish Society for Community Nutrition. One method of analysing diet quality is the use of indices that assess the frequency of consumption of different food groups.

AIM

To analyse diet quality in a Spanish population of persons aged over 65years using the Healthy Eating Index and to determine how sociodemographic factors affect scores on the index.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted on the diet followed at home by Spanish population aged over 65years, using the Healthy Eating Index and taking information from the 2014 European Health Interview Survey in Spain. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the socioeconomic factors associated with diet quality.

RESULTS

Of the study population, 89.6% need to make changes in their diet, while only 8.2% follow a healthy diet. Suffering from chronic diseases, overweight and occasional physical exercise were associated with higher scores on the Healthy Eating Index.

CONCLUSION

Most of the population aged 65years or over need to make changes in their dietary patterns. Those with potential health risks are more careful about their diet. These findings confirm the need to promote guidelines for healthy eating in the non-clinical population.