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Title: Alternative approaches to the calculation of nutrient density

Author
item KENNEDY, EILEEN - TUFTS UNIVERSITY
item RACSA, PATRICK - TUFTS UNIVERSITY
item Dallal, Gerald
item Lichtenstein, Alice
item GOLDBERG, JEANNE - TUFTS UNIVERSITY
item Jacques, Paul
item HYATT, RAYMOND - TUFTS UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Nutrition Reviews
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/21/2008
Publication Date: 12/1/2008
Citation: Kennedy, E., Racsa, P., Dallal, G., Lichtenstein, A.H., Goldberg, J., Jacques, P., Hyatt, R. 2008. Alternative Approaches to the Calculation of Nutrient Density. Nutrition Reviews. 66(12):703-709.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Over thirty years ago researchers developed a variety of different methods for rating or measuring the nutritional quality of foods. Nutrient density as the initial concept emerged was most commonly defined as the ratio of the amount of nutrients in a food to the energy provided. The nutrient density equations used were the ratio of nutrients contained in a food to the energy provided by the food item either on a per serving, per 100 calorie or per 100 grams as consumed basis. The earliest nutrient density scores were developed prior to the first USDA/HHS Dietary Guidelines for Americans in 1980. Recently, there has been a renewed emphasis in the concept of nutrient density as a result of recommendations made in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Statements from these most recent guidelines such as: "Get the most nutrition out of your calories" and "Consume a variety of nutrient dense foods and beverages within and among the basic food groups" focus a clear emphasis on nutrient density as a way to guide good choices. Most Americans do not have dietary patterns consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). Using the USDA Healthy Eating Index (HEI), a single summary measure to evaluate total diet quality, results indicate that both in 1995 and 2005 the majority of people have diets that do not meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Indeed, the diets of individuals improved only slightly since the 1995 HEI was used to measure dietary quality. This has prompted researchers, as well as public and private sector organizations to devote attention to developing approaches, based on nutrient density, that can be used as tools to help consumers improve their dietary patterns by selecting more nutritious individual food items.