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Abstract

Background: Dietary pattern assessment by healthcare providers leads to a better understanding of usual intake and evaluation of nutritional status, systemic health, and disease. Interprofessional team members can use such information to provide interventions leading to improved health outcomes. Objective: The aim was to explore the dietary patterns of adults seen in a dental clinic using the Rapid Eating and Activity Assessment for Patients (REAP) tool. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of data from 220 adult patients (aged 18-89 years) who had a diet evaluation completed in a dental school clinic. Demographic information and REAP responses were obtained from the electronic health record and reported using frequency distributions. Results: The study sample (N=220) was 50.0% male (n= 110). The median (IQR) age and BMI were 56.0 years (IQR=48.2, 66.0) and 28.0 kg/m2 (IQR= 24.3, 32.8 kg/m2), respectively; 73.5% had a BMI considered overweight or obese. Approximately one-third reported usually/sometimes eating sweets more than twice/day (n=74, 35.9%) and drinking more than 16 ounces of SSBs (n=74, 34.1%). Most reported usually/sometimes eating less than 3 servings of whole grains (n=165, 75.0%), 2-3 servings of fruit (n=155, 71.1%), or 3-4 servings of vegetables (n=121, 70.8%) daily. Seventy-two percent (n=156) indicated they were willing to make dietary changes. Conclusion: This study revealed that the dietary patterns of adults seen in a dental school clinic did not align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations. Diet assessment is feasible in this setting and may be an important part of interprofessional education.

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