Diet quality and lifestyle associated with free selected low-energy density diets in a representative Spanish population

Objective: Dietary intake is strongly influenced by the energy density of the diet. The purpose of this study was to determine the association of energy density with diet quality, dietary reference intake (DRI) for energy and lifestyle characteristics in free-living people. Subjects: The subjects were Spanish men (n ¼ 1491) and women (n ¼ 1563) selected in between 1999 and 2000 among the general population according to the 1996 census. Results: A low-energy density diet was significantly associated (Po0.001) with a higher consumption of vegetables, fruits, legumes, fish and white meat as compared to high-energy density diets. More subjects (Po0.001) with a high adherence to low-energy densi…