Nutrient density identifies the amount of beneficial nutrients in a food product in proportion to e.g. energy content, weight or amount of perceived detrimental nutrients. Terms such as nutrient rich and micronutrient dense refer to similar properties. Several different national and international standards have been developed and are in use (see Nutritional rating systems).
According to the World Health Organization, nutrient profiling[1] classifies and/or ranks foods by their nutritional composition in order to promote human (and/or animal) health and to prevent disease.[2] Ranking by nutrient density is one such nutrient profiling strategy. Ordering foods by nutrient density is a statistical method of comparing foods by the proportion of nutrients in foods. Some such comparisons can be the glycemic index and the overall nutritional quality index.
When the density is defined in proportion to energy contents, nutrient-dense foods such as meats, fruits and vegetables are the opposite of energy-dense food (also called "empty calorie" food), such as alcohol and foods high in added sugar or processed cereals.[3][4] Beyond its use to distinguish different types of food from each other, nutrient density allows comparison to be made for different examples or samples of the same kind of food. Nutrient density is correlated with soil quality and mineralization levels of the soil [citation needed], although the relationship is complex and incorporates other dimensions.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics reported in 2013 that:
Several indicators of nutrient quality have been summarized by the Academy.[5][6]
The Nutrient Rich Food Index has been developed by a research coalition involving food and nutrition practitioners.[7] This index uses nutrient profiles that have been validated against accepted measures of a healthy diet, such as the Healthy Eating Index created by the USDA.[8]
The Nutrient Profiling Scoring Calculator (NPSC) in Australia and New Zealand is a calculator for determining whether health claims can be made for a food by its reference to the Nutrient Profiling Scoring Criterion (NPSC). It is defined by the FSANZ Board, which operates under the FSANZ Act.[9]
The United Kingdom Ofcom nutrient profiling model provides "a single score for any given food product, based on calculating the number of points for ‘negative’ nutrients which can be offset by points for ‘positive’ nutrients." A 2007 UK-commissioned review of nutrient profiling models commissioned by the UK Food Standards Agency identified over 40 different schemes.[10]
The World Health Organization reviews scientific and operational issues related to human nutrition, specifically when developing world populations are impacted.[1]
The following aspects of nutrient density measures have been criticized.
If nutrient density is measured in proportion to the food's energy content:
No natural food product contains all essential nutrients and nutrient density will not tell you which ones are missing. So even a diet based on a lot of high-density products could still lack several essential nutrients.