RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate into the changes of dietary patterns and their impacts on health of urban and rural residents in Jiangsu Province, China during the 1990s.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>On the basis of the results of food consumption survey, the calorie intake was calculated according to the balanced diet method and the quality of diet was assessed by scores of desirable dietary pattern (DDP).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>It was found that food consumption and dietary patterns changed remarkably during the 1990s. Grain consumption was decreasing year by year, but the consumption of animal food was markedly increasing. Although the score of desirable dietary pattern (DDP) in urban residents was more than 90, the deducted score due to over-consumption of animal food increased. The mortality from infectious diseases evidently decreased in the whole province, while the death rates of some chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, colorectal cancer and breast cancer, were increasing rapidly in urban areas.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Sufficient attention should be paid to the negative effects of change in dietary patterns on people's health, especially in the urban residents.</p>