Racial and Ethnic Differences in Diet Quality by Education Level: Diminished Returns.

Higher education is correlated with healthy eating, which prevents chronic disease. Recent evidence suggests that racial and ethnic minority populations with higher education levels consume fewer healthy foods than their non-Hispanic White counterparts. We analyzed data on 19,591 participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2011-2018). Linear regression models identified racial and ethnic differences in Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 scores within categories of education level. Non-Hispanic Black adults with a bachelor's degree or higher had lower HEI-2015 scores (β = -1.69; SE = 0.79; P = .03) compared with non-Hispanic White adults with the same education level. These findings suggest that non-Hispanic Black populations in the US may experience diminished returns on educational investment.