Abstract
Objectives
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 recommended that consumers give priority to nutrient-dense foods, those that contain
substantial amounts of key nutrients in relation to the dietary energy they provide.
This study developed a scoring system to estimate the nutritional adequacy of vegetables
and fruits, on a per weight, per calorie, and per unit cost basis.
Data
We used a French national food composition database for 637 foods, including 129 vegetables
and fruits. Mean national retail prices were obtained for each food.
Methods
The nutrient adequacy score was defined as the mean of percent daily values for 16
nutrients, based on 100 g of food. The nutrient density score and the nutrient-to-price
ratio were the mean of percent daily values for 16 nutrients, expressed per 100 kcal
and per 1 euro of food, respectively. Relationships between energy density of vegetables
and fruits, nutrient adequacy score, nutrient density score, and nutrient-to-price
ratio were tested using linear regression.
Results
Energy density and nutrient density score were negatively correlated, confirming the
widely accepted notion that energy-dense foods tend to be nutrient-poor. As expected,
fruits and vegetables had the highest nutrient density score because they were nutrient-rich
in relation to their low energy content. They also had a relatively high nutrient-to-price
ratio, showing that they provided nutrients at a reasonable cost when compared with
other foods.
Conclusions
Foods ranked differently when nutritional adequacy was calculated per weight (nutrient
adequacy score), per calorie (nutrient density score), or per unit cost (nutrient-to-price
ratio). The present results showed that although fruits and vegetables are an expensive
source of dietary energy, they provide key nutrients at a reasonable cost.
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Biography
N. Darmon and M. Maillot are with the Institut Scientifique et Technique de la Nutrition et de l’Alimentation and the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Paris, France.
Biography
M. Darmon is with the University of Bordeaux-2, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Bordeaux Cedex–France.
Biography
A. Drewnowski is Center for Public Health Nutrition, University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Seattle.
Article info
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© 2005 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
