Cited by 675Nutritional Studies and DietConsumer Attitudes and Food LabelingNutrition, Health, and Society Studies

A critical review of predefined diet quality scores

Open access
Waijers, Patricia M. C. M., Feskens, Edith J. M., Ocké, Marga C.·2007·British Journal Of Nutrition

Abstract

The literature on predefined indexes of overall diet quality is reviewed. Their association with nutrient adequacy and health outcome is considered, but our primary interest is in the make-up of the scores. In total, twenty different indexes have been reviewed, four of which have gained most attention, and many others were based on those four. The various scores differ in many respects, such as the items included, the cut-off values used, and the exact method of scoring, indicating that many arbitrary choices have been made. Correlations in intake between dietary components may not be adequately addressed. In general, diet quality scores show an association with mortality or disease risk, but these relations are generally modest. Existing indexes do not predict morbidity or mortality significantly better than individual dietary factors. Although conclusions from the review may provide guidance in the construction of a diet quality score, it is questionable whether a dietary score can be obtained that is a much better predictor of health outcome.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1017/s0007114507250421

Cites

81 of 81 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Food Guide Pyramid (1992) A guide to daily food choices. Washington, DC: US Department of Agriculture, Human Nutrition Information service, 1992. Home and Garden Bulletin No. 252.
  2. Huijbregts PPCW, Vegt de F, Feskens EJM, Bowles CH & Kromhout D (1997b) Dietary patterns and mortality in an elderly population in the Netherlands. A comparison between cluster analysis and the healthy diet indicator. In Dietary Patterns and Health in the Elderly, pp. 33-42 [PPCW Huijbregts, editor]. The Netherlands: Wageningen University. International Agency for Research on Cancer (2003) IARC Hand- books of Cancer Prevention. vol. 8: Fruits and Vegetables. Lyon: IARC Press.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Waijers, P. M. C. M., Feskens, E. J. M., & Ocké, M. C.
Affiliations
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (NL)
Corresponding author
  • Waijers, Patricia M. C. M.
  • Ocké, Marga C.
Venue
British Journal Of Nutrition
Published
2007-02
Volume
97
Issue
2
Pages
219-231
ISSN
  • 0007-1145 (ISSN-L)
  • 1475-2662
OpenAlex
W2098538096
Cited by
675
References
81
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 40 · 2021: 55 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 42 · 2018: 38 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 46 · 2015: 42 · 2014: 35 · 2013: 63 · 2012: 35
FWCI
3.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • British Journal Of Nutrition (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (acceptedVersion)
  • Rivm Repository (Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Nutrition, Health, and Society Studies
Keywords
diet quality index, nutritional adequacy, dietary assessment, cut-off values, health outcome prediction, mortality, disease risk
MeSH terms
Diet, Dietary Fats, Energy Metabolism, Fatty Acids, Food, Food Analysis, Health Status, Humans, Risk Factors, Nutrition Assessment, Practice Guidelines as Topic, Diet, Mediterranean

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review