A New Carbohydrate Food Quality Scoring System to Reflect Dietary Guidelines: An Expert Panel Report

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Dietary Assessment
• Public Health Nutrition

Background:

• Existing carbohydrate food quality metrics primarily rely on fiber and free sugar content.
• These metrics may not adequately assess the nutritional quality of diverse carbohydrate sources like beans, fruits, and vegetables.
• A comprehensive scoring system is needed to evaluate a broader range of carbohydrate foods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate a new Carbohydrate Food Quality Score (CFQS).
• To incorporate additional dietary components of public health significance beyond fiber and free sugars.
• To develop models applicable across diverse food groups, including grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits.

Main Methods:

• Developed two CFQS models: CFQS-4 (fiber, free sugars, sodium, potassium) and CFQS-5 (adding whole grains).
• Applied the models to 2596 carbohydrate foods using the 2017-2018 Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS).
• Correlated CFQS with established indices like the Nutrient Rich Food (NRF9.3) index and Nutri-Score.

Main Results:

• The CFQS identified beans, vegetables, and fruits as high-quality carbohydrate sources.
• The whole grain component highlighted quality in cereals, oatmeal, and whole grain breads/crackers.
• The CFQS demonstrated strong correlations with the NRF9.3 index and Nutri-Score.

Conclusions:

• The CFQS provides a more comprehensive assessment of carbohydrate food quality across various food groups.
• Incorporating whole grains, potassium, and sodium enhances alignment with current dietary recommendations.
• The CFQS can aid in the practical implementation of national dietary guidelines.