Food is integral to everyday life, as it provides essential energy and nutrients for human survival and health. It also contributes to the realization of individuals and the functioning of societies at large. Substantial evidence shows that the increased intake of nutrient-dense foods, rich in essential vitamins and minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids, can contribute to breaking the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition in all its forms. On the contrary, the growing global consumption of calorie-dense, nutrient-empty foods has been proven to increase the risk of overweight/obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases. The term ‘nutrient density’ has become increasingly popular and is often used to promote the adoption of Dietary Guidelines globally. Although there is no universal definition of this term, the global consensus is growing around the following potential options: i) the nutritional value of foods and beverages, ii) the classification or ranking of foods and beverages based on the ratio of their nutrient content to their total energy content, and iii) nutrient density is the opposite of empty calories.
It is important to emphasize that humans do not consume individual food items in isolation but as part of meals and diets that are comprised of a combination of food items that complement each other in terms of nutrient content. Thus, public/global health promotion strategies focusing on improving the consumption of nutrient-dense meals/diets while at the same time reducing the consumption of nutrient-empty ones have proven successful. Most of these successful strategies are multisectoral and multidimensional, as they include interventions at the micro-, meso-, and macro-levels, involving stakeholders from all relevant sectors. Therefore, the goal of the present special issue is to compile scientific evidence on nutrient-dense foods and approaches to identify and classify such foods.
The topics covered in this special issue include:
• The nutritional value/content of food and beverages
• Scoring systems to identify nutrient-dense foods
• The ratio between nutrients and the total energy content of food/beverages
• Nutrient-dense vs. nutrient-empty foods
• Dietary diversity and food insecurity
• Strategies to improve/promote nutrient density
Food is integral to everyday life, as it provides essential energy and nutrients for human survival and health. It also contributes to the realization of individuals and the functioning of societies at large. Substantial evidence shows that the increased intake of nutrient-dense foods, rich in essential vitamins and minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids, can contribute to breaking the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition in all its forms. On the contrary, the growing global consumption of calorie-dense, nutrient-empty foods has been proven to increase the risk of overweight/obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases. The term ‘nutrient density’ has become increasingly popular and is often used to promote the adoption of Dietary Guidelines globally. Although there is no universal definition of this term, the global consensus is growing around the following potential options: i) the nutritional value of foods and beverages, ii) the classification or ranking of foods and beverages based on the ratio of their nutrient content to their total energy content, and iii) nutrient density is the opposite of empty calories.
It is important to emphasize that humans do not consume individual food items in isolation but as part of meals and diets that are comprised of a combination of food items that complement each other in terms of nutrient content. Thus, public/global health promotion strategies focusing on improving the consumption of nutrient-dense meals/diets while at the same time reducing the consumption of nutrient-empty ones have proven successful. Most of these successful strategies are multisectoral and multidimensional, as they include interventions at the micro-, meso-, and macro-levels, involving stakeholders from all relevant sectors. Therefore, the goal of the present special issue is to compile scientific evidence on nutrient-dense foods and approaches to identify and classify such foods.
The topics covered in this special issue include:
• The nutritional value/content of food and beverages
• Scoring systems to identify nutrient-dense foods
• The ratio between nutrients and the total energy content of food/beverages
• Nutrient-dense vs. nutrient-empty foods
• Dietary diversity and food insecurity
• Strategies to improve/promote nutrient density
