Concept of a nutritious food: toward a nutrient density score

Summary

This paper by Drewnowski, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2005, critically reviews the concept of nutritional quality and the methodological challenges of defining a 'nutritious food'. It explores various nutrient profiling approaches, including nutrient-to-calorie ratios and composite scoring methods, with the aim of developing a practical and scientifically defensible nutrient density score. The paper is considered a foundational contribution to the field of nutrient profiling, informing subsequent dietary guidance and food labelling frameworks.

UK applicability

Although the paper is not UK-specific, its conceptual framework for nutrient density scoring is directly relevant to UK food policy, including the UK's Nutrient Profiling Model used by the Food Standards Agency and Ofcom to regulate food marketing. The principles discussed have broad applicability to British dietary assessment and public health nutrition practice.

Key measures

Nutrient density scores; nutrient-to-calorie ratios; food group comparisons; micronutrient content per unit energy

Outcomes reported

The paper examines existing approaches to quantifying nutrient density in foods and proposes a framework for a standardised nutrient density score. It evaluates how such scores might be used to identify nutritious foods across diverse food categories.

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