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Lookup NU author(s): Emeritus Professor Chris SealORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Purpose:Whole grains, generally recognised as healthy choices, are not included in most nutrient profiling systems. We tested modifications to the Nutri-Score algorithm to determine whether including whole grains would provide an improved measure of food, and overall diet quality.Methods: The whole-grain content of food, with a minimum cut-point of 25%, was added to the algorithm, following similar methods used to score other health-promoting components such as fibre. We applied and compared the original and the modified Nutri-Score to food composition and dietary intake data from Australia, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.Results: At the food level, correlations between whole-grain content and food nutritional score were strengthened using the modified algorithm in Australian data, but less so for the other countries. Improvements were greater in grain-specific food groups. The largest shift in Nutri-Score class was from B to A (best score). At the dietary intake level, whole-diet nutritional scores for individuals were calculated and compared against population-specific diet-quality scores. With modifications, correlations with diet-quality scores were improved slightly, suggesting that the modified score better aligns with national dietary guidelines. An inverse linear relationship between whole-diet nutritional score and whole-grain intake was evident, particularly with modifications (lower whole-diet nutritional score indicative of better diet quality).Conclusion: Including a whole-grain component in the Nutri-Score algorithm is justified to align with dietary guidelines and better reflect whole grain as a contributor to improved dietary quality. Further research is required to test alternative algorithms and potentially other nutrient profiling systems.PurposeWhole grains, generally recognised as healthy choices, are not included in most nutrient profiling systems. We tested modifications to the Nutri-Score algorithm to determine whether including whole grains would provide an improved measure of food, and overall diet quality.MethodsThe whole-grain content of food, with a minimum cut-point of 25%, was added to the algorithm, following simi-lar methods used to score other health-promoting components such as fibre. We applied and compared the original and the modified Nutri-Score to food composition and dietary intake data from Australia, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.ResultsAt the food level, correlations between whole-grain content and food nutritional score were strengthened using the modified algorithm in Australian data, but less so for the other countries. Improvements were greater in grain-specific food groups. The largest shift in Nutri-Score class was from B to A (best score). At the dietary intake level, whole-diet nutritional scores for individuals were calculated and compared against population-specific diet-quality scores. With modifications, correlations with diet-quality scores were improved slightly, suggesting that the modified score better aligns with national dietary guidelines. An inverse linear relationship between whole-diet nutritional score and whole-grain intake was evident, particularly with modifications (lower whole-diet nutritional score indicative of better diet quality).ConclusionIncluding a whole-grain component in the Nutri-Score algorithm is justified to align with dietary guidelines and better reflect whole grain as a contributor to improved dietary quality. Further research is required to test alternative algorithms and potentially other nutrient profiling systems
Author(s): Kissock KR, Vieux F, Mathias KC, Drewnowski A, Seal CJ, Masset G, Smith J, Mejborn H, McKeown NM, Beck EJ
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: European Journal of Nutrition
Year: 2022
Volume: 61
Issue: 1
Pages: 541-553
Online publication date: 24/11/2021
Acceptance date: 18/10/2021
Date deposited: 25/11/2021
ISSN (print): 1436-6207
ISSN (electronic): 1436-6215
Publisher: Springer Nature
URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-021-02718-6
DOI: 10.1007/s00394-021-02718-6
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