Validity of the my nutrition index and its relationship with the healthy eating index-2015 in the Turkish population

Abstract Background Healthy eating is a crucial concept encompassing biochemical, physical, and psychosocial domains, and various nutritional indices and scales have been developed to assess the healthfulness of individuals’ diets. This study aimed to evaluate the validity of the My Nutrition Index...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Emine Elibol, Rahime Evra Karakaya
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-08-01
Series:BMC Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23930-7
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849388793232097280
author Emine Elibol
Rahime Evra Karakaya
author_facet Emine Elibol
Rahime Evra Karakaya
author_sort Emine Elibol
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Healthy eating is a crucial concept encompassing biochemical, physical, and psychosocial domains, and various nutritional indices and scales have been developed to assess the healthfulness of individuals’ diets. This study aimed to evaluate the validity of the My Nutrition Index and examine its relationship with the Healthy Eating Index-2015 in the Turkish population. Methods This cross-sectional study included 498 participants aged 19–64 years. Demographic and anthropometric data were collected, and three-day food consumption records were obtained to calculate both the My Nutrition Index and the Healthy Eating Index-2015. Validity of the MNI was assessed by examining its correlation with the HEI-2015 using Pearson’s correlation test. Additionally, subgroup analyses were conducted to explore associations between MNI scores and demographic variables. Data analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 26 software package. Results Of the 498 participants, 65.4% were female and 34.6% were male. The mean age of the participants was 32.59 ± 14.34 years, and the mean body mass index was 24.58 ± 5.03 kg/m². The mean score for the My Nutrition Index was 47.91 ± 15.88, while the mean score for the Healthy Eating Index was 56.87 ± 10.49. A significant positive correlation was observed between the total score of the My Nutrition Index, the electrolyte, vitamin, and mineral subscales, and the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (p < 0.05). The mineral index scores of women were lower than those of men, and the My Nutrition Index score of individuals classified as underweight was lower than those of individuals with normal weight and obesity. Smokers had lower scores on both the My Nutrition Index and the Healthy Eating Index-2015 compared to non-smokers (p < 0.05). Conclusions The My Nutrition Index demonstrated a significant correlation with the Healthy Eating Index-2015 in Türkiye. By providing a more culturally and contextually appropriate assessment tool, the My Nutrition Index may facilitate more targeted and effective interventions aimed at improving dietary habits. Future research should focus on validating the MNI in diverse populations and exploring its relationship with long-term health outcomes through longitudinal studies to further establish its clinical and public health relevance.
format Article
id doaj-art-56c1b7ecb24f4bdf80449a1779c1e9f8
institution Kabale University
issn 1471-2458
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series BMC Public Health
spelling doaj-art-56c1b7ecb24f4bdf80449a1779c1e9f82025-08-20T03:42:10ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582025-08-0125111210.1186/s12889-025-23930-7Validity of the my nutrition index and its relationship with the healthy eating index-2015 in the Turkish populationEmine Elibol0Rahime Evra Karakaya1Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt UniversityDepartment of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt UniversityAbstract Background Healthy eating is a crucial concept encompassing biochemical, physical, and psychosocial domains, and various nutritional indices and scales have been developed to assess the healthfulness of individuals’ diets. This study aimed to evaluate the validity of the My Nutrition Index and examine its relationship with the Healthy Eating Index-2015 in the Turkish population. Methods This cross-sectional study included 498 participants aged 19–64 years. Demographic and anthropometric data were collected, and three-day food consumption records were obtained to calculate both the My Nutrition Index and the Healthy Eating Index-2015. Validity of the MNI was assessed by examining its correlation with the HEI-2015 using Pearson’s correlation test. Additionally, subgroup analyses were conducted to explore associations between MNI scores and demographic variables. Data analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 26 software package. Results Of the 498 participants, 65.4% were female and 34.6% were male. The mean age of the participants was 32.59 ± 14.34 years, and the mean body mass index was 24.58 ± 5.03 kg/m². The mean score for the My Nutrition Index was 47.91 ± 15.88, while the mean score for the Healthy Eating Index was 56.87 ± 10.49. A significant positive correlation was observed between the total score of the My Nutrition Index, the electrolyte, vitamin, and mineral subscales, and the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (p < 0.05). The mineral index scores of women were lower than those of men, and the My Nutrition Index score of individuals classified as underweight was lower than those of individuals with normal weight and obesity. Smokers had lower scores on both the My Nutrition Index and the Healthy Eating Index-2015 compared to non-smokers (p < 0.05). Conclusions The My Nutrition Index demonstrated a significant correlation with the Healthy Eating Index-2015 in Türkiye. By providing a more culturally and contextually appropriate assessment tool, the My Nutrition Index may facilitate more targeted and effective interventions aimed at improving dietary habits. Future research should focus on validating the MNI in diverse populations and exploring its relationship with long-term health outcomes through longitudinal studies to further establish its clinical and public health relevance.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23930-7My nutrition indexHealthy eating indexDietary assessment
spellingShingle Emine Elibol
Rahime Evra Karakaya
Validity of the my nutrition index and its relationship with the healthy eating index-2015 in the Turkish population
BMC Public Health
My nutrition index
Healthy eating index
Dietary assessment
title Validity of the my nutrition index and its relationship with the healthy eating index-2015 in the Turkish population
title_full Validity of the my nutrition index and its relationship with the healthy eating index-2015 in the Turkish population
title_fullStr Validity of the my nutrition index and its relationship with the healthy eating index-2015 in the Turkish population
title_full_unstemmed Validity of the my nutrition index and its relationship with the healthy eating index-2015 in the Turkish population
title_short Validity of the my nutrition index and its relationship with the healthy eating index-2015 in the Turkish population
title_sort validity of the my nutrition index and its relationship with the healthy eating index 2015 in the turkish population
topic My nutrition index
Healthy eating index
Dietary assessment
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23930-7
work_keys_str_mv AT emineelibol validityofthemynutritionindexanditsrelationshipwiththehealthyeatingindex2015intheturkishpopulation
AT rahimeevrakarakaya validityofthemynutritionindexanditsrelationshipwiththehealthyeatingindex2015intheturkishpopulation