When asked whether they are eating a healthy diet, many people are quick to say they think they are eating pretty well. However, a new study indicates that they may not be as accurate as they think they are.

Most people studied had a hard time assessing the quality of their diet, according to lead author, Jessica L. Thomson, PhD, a research epidemiologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in the Southeast Area.

However, those who were able to most accurately assess the quality of their diet were those who perceived it to be less healthy. In those cases, they were almost always correct.

Thomson will be presenting her team’s findings this week at Nutrition 2022 Live Online, which is being held on June 14-16 at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition.

“How healthy is your diet?”

The research team’s goal was to learn whether that one simple question could be used as a screening tool for nutrition studies, rather than the more detailed questionnaires that are generally used.