Adults with healthier dietary patterns have healthier beverage patterns

There is an absence of research examining associations between food and beverage intake patterns and most research has centered on soft drinks, whereas research on overall beverage patterns is absent. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 99-02 for adults aged 19 y and older, we independently examined beverage and food intake patterns, as well as their interrelations. Cluster analysis generated mutually exclusive intake patterns for beverages and foods. Multinomial logistic regression models provided the odds of a given beverage pattern for each food pattern; we then compared the probability of a given beverage pattern for each food pattern. Six beverage and 6 food patterns emerged. Beverage patterns revealed that calorically sweetened, noncaloric, and diet beverages tended to be consumed independently of one another. Being in the Snacks and High-Fat Foods cluster increased the odds of being in the Coffee and Soda (odds ratio (OR): 1.62 [95% CI: 1.27-2.06]) or Nutrients and Soda (OR: 1.51 [95% CI: 1.14-2.00]) beverage clusters and decreased the odds of being in the Water and Tea (OR: 0.51 [95% CI: 0.52-0.97]) cluster relative to the odds of being in the Water, Coffee, and Tea cluster. The opposite was true for the Vegetable pattern. Furthermore, persons who had a healthier food pattern had a higher probability of having a noncaloric beverage pattern than persons who did not. Increasing awareness of both the contribution of calorie-containing beverages to overall energy intake and dietary patterns associated with these beverages helps inform policies targeted at reducing energy intake in the population.