Power Compass
Scientists have compiled a rating of the usefulness of products
American nutritionists and experts in healthy nutrition from Tufts University have compiled the most complete rating of food products in terms of their health benefits: from the best to the worst. The article was published in the journal Nature Food (Mozaffarian et al., Food Compass is a nutrient profiling system using expanded characteristics for assessing the healthfulness of foods).
This publication is the first result of the practical application of the new nutrient profiling system Food Compass, developed by specialists from the Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy at Tufts University. For three years, the authors analyzed and summarized scientific data on various characteristics of food products that positively or negatively affect health.
The authors note that this is the first system that takes into account the balance of healthy and harmful factors of food products, all previous ones focused only on one of these two groups of factors. In addition, it allows you to evaluate the initial products, dishes made from them, including complex ones, as well as drinks on a general scale.
"Consumers, politicians and manufacturers are looking for simple tools that will help everyone make a choice in favor of a healthier lifestyle," the head of the study, Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School, is quoted in a press release from the university.
The Food Compass system was developed using the US national database, which contains information about 8032 food and beverages consumed by Americans. The researchers evaluated 54 different characteristics of the products in nine areas related to major chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular problems and cancer, as well as the risk of eating disorders, especially for mothers, young children and the elderly.
In the final version of the classification, each product, drink or mixed dish received a Food Compass score in the range from 1 (least healthy) to 100 (most healthy). The authors determined that 70 or more is a score for foods and beverages that should be encouraged, food and beverages with a score of 31-69 should be consumed in moderation, and anything gaining 30 or less should be minimized.
In the main categories of food, the average score was 43.2. Snacks and sweet desserts had the lowest score (average score 16.4), vegetables received the highest score (average score 69.1), fruits (average score 73.9; almost all raw fruits received 100 points), as well as legumes, nuts and seeds (average score 78.6). Among drinks, the average score ranged from 27.6 for carbonated and energy drinks with sugar to 67 for fruit or vegetable juices.
Figure from the Tufts University press release Ranking Healthfulness of Foods from First to Worst – VM.
Starchy vegetables received an average of 43.2 points, the average score for beef was 24.9; poultry — 42.67; seafood — 67.0.
"Thanks to a publicly available evaluation algorithm, Food Compass can offer a detailed approach to promoting healthy food choices, helping to determine consumer behavior, nutrition policy, scientific research, food industry methods and socially oriented investment decisions," says Renata Micha, one of the authors of the article.
Scientists also hope that their classification will contribute to the development of healthier foods and changes in the composition of ingredients in popular foods and snacks.
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