Dietary quality in early life affects growth and development throughout childhood and influences food preferences and risks for developing chronic diseases in later adulthood. There is a lack of recent data on the diet quality of low-income preschoolers. Updated data on diet quality is important for health professionals to monitor dietary trends and modify educational interventions. The objective of this study was to report current dietary quality as indicated by the Healthy Eating Index-2005 (HEI-2005) of both local and national preschoolers. This is a cross-sectional study using two secondary datasets. One sample was the Head Start children (n=330) from Michigan Greater Lansing Area and the other was the 3-5 year old children (n=505) surveyed in the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The NHANES sample was categorized into subgroups by the Head Start status and children's family income. Both datasets showed that preschool children's dietary intake of total fruits, whole fruits, total grains, and milk met or approached the recommendations. However, vegetables, whole grains, saturated fat, sodium, and calories from solid fats and added sugars still need improvements. Nationally, children (n=105) who enrolled in Head Start (HS) had the highest overall HEI-2005 score (p=0.03) compare to non-HS high income and low-income children, after adjusted for age, gender, race, and weight status. The non-HS low-income children scored lowest on all HEI-2005 subgroups except for meat. Low-income preschool children's diets still need improvements. Whether the Head Start program benefits low-income preschoolers nutritionally by itself needs further study.
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