The following are five key points to remember from this American Heart Association (AHA) Science Advisory on dietary diversity: implications for obesity prevention in adult populations:

1. The AHA Science Advisory Committee members performed a literature search to review current publications related to diet diversity in relation to food-based diet quality, body weight, and adiposity measures.
2. Currently, there is no standardized measure of diet diversity. Dietary variety or diversity has been measured as counts of different foods or food groups over a given period of time. However, counts do not allow for understanding differences in nutritional content. Diversity is also measured by evenness, which allows for information on energy across foods by measuring the relative distribution of foods by weight or volume. Diet dissimilarity also allows for incorporation of data on food’s attributes that are relevant to health such as fiber, sodium, or fat content.
3. Limited evidence from observational studies suggests that dietary diversity is positively associated with greater energy intake, suboptimal eating patterns, and weight gain in adult populations. Evidence from short-term feeding studies suggests that exposure to a variety of foods may increase energy intake and reduce sensory-specific satiation in adult populations. However, current studies do not provide data on minority populations, or vulnerable populations that may have limited access to food.
4. Standardization of reliable measures of dietary diversity is needed. Future research related to dietary diversity that includes clinical, metabolic, and cardiovascular outcomes is warranted.
5. Currently, based on present-day science on dietary diversity, emphasis on a healthy eating pattern that emphasizes adequate intake of plant foods, protein sources, low-fat dairy products, vegetable oils, and nuts and limits consumption of sweets, sugar-sweetened beverages, and red meats is recommended.

Clinical Topics: Diabetes and Cardiometabolic Disease, Dyslipidemia, Prevention, Lipid Metabolism, Diet

Keywords: Adiposity, Body Weight, Dairy Products, Diet, Dietary Fiber, Feeding Behavior, Metabolic Syndrome, Nuts, Obesity, Plant Oils, Primary Prevention, Meat, Satiation, Sodium, Sweetening Agents, Vegetables, Weight Gain

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