Table 1 General characteristics of study participants across tertiles of the alternate healthy eating index-2010 (n = 203)¹

Alternate healthy eating index-2010

40.16 ± 5.87

55.25 ± 4.08

69.60 ± 4.89

< 0.001

Age (y)

14.03 ± 1.54

13.87 ± 1.52

14.4 ± 1.77

0.78

Weight (kg)

75.65 ± 10.67

74.13 ± 11.88

70.68 ± 11.83

0.04

Body mass index (kg/m²)

27.76 ± 2.65

27.79 ± 3.43

26.52 ± 3.46

0.03

Overweight/obesity prevalence, n (%)

< 0.001

 Overweight

25 (36.8)

30 (44.8)

49 (72.1)

 Obese

43 (63.2)

37 (55.2)

19 (27.9)

 Waist circumference (cm)

91.68 ± 7.03

91.65 ± 7.16

87.68 ± 8.91

0.01

Sex, n (%)

0.68

 Boy

31 (45.6)

34 (50.7)

36 (52.9)

 Girl

37 (54.4)

33 (49.3)

32 (47.1)

Physical activity levels, n (%)

< 0.001

 Low⁴

67 (98.5)

63 (94)

36 (52.9)

 High⁵

1 (1.5)

4 (6.0)

32 (47.1)

Socioeconomic status levels, n (%)

0.53

 Low

24 (35.3)

18 (26.9)

17 (25)

 Moderate

30 (44.1)

28 (41.8)

32 (47.1)

 High

14 (20.6)

21 (31.3)

19 (27.9)

Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)

116.71 ± 10.41

113.69 ± 21.83

107.74 ± 19.88

0.01

Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)

76.29 ± 5.95

73.41 ± 13.04

73.50 ± 11.38

0.02

Fasting blood sugar (mg/dL)

102.38 ± 8.92

98.60 ± 7.58

93.43 ± 6.41

< 0.001

Insulin (µUI/mL)

23.78 ± 14.67

21.05 ± 10.31

16.44 ± 11.63

0.01

HOMA-IR index

6.00 ± 3.60

5.22 ± 2.87

3.85 ± 2.98

< 0.001

Triglycerides (mg/dL)

142.75 ± 62.79

125.19 ± 76.63

97.96 ± 50.94

< 0.001

HDL cholesterol (mg/dL)

42.31 ± 7.91

44.49 ± 7.00

47.66 ± 7.98

< 0.001