Variety in the diets of free-living, food-secure adults

Participants consumed an average of 110 unique foods over 28 days with higher counts of unique foods for dinner (46 items), followed by lunch (38 items), and then breakfast (21 items). The highest proportions of unique foods were consumed at dinner (0.60) and early evening snack (0.59). Females consumed higher counts of unique foods than did males over most eating occasions. None of our dietary variety measures predicted participants' satisfaction with variety. Our food-secure, highly educated, and free-living participants provided themselves with the amount of variety they needed to feel generally satisfied.