ONQI: Coming Sept. 2008 to a Supermarket Near You!

[James L]

The September issue of National Geographic has a brief article on the Overall Nutritional Quality Index (ONQI) that has been developed over the past several years by Yale University's Griffin Prevention Research Center. I visited the ONQI (http://www.onqi.org) Web site to learn a bit more about this new Index. The concept is to evaluate the nutritional quality of various foods and provide a single number that shoppers can use in making purchasing decisions. Apparently, thousands of supermarkets intend to start using this system starting in September 2008.

The following is from the Mission & Objectives section of the ONQI Web site:
To measure overall nutritional quality using the best science available, encompassing nutritional biochemistry; physiology and metabolism; dietetics; and epidemiology and public health.FWIW, here are some foods and their associated ONQI value:


100 Broccoli
100 Blueberries
96 Apple
91 Banana
82 Sockeye Salmon
69 Unbuttered, Unsalted Popcorn
51 Scallops
50 Pasta
39 Skinless Chicken Breast
29 Enriched White Bread
17 Swiss Cheese
10 Dark Chocolate
5 Hot Dog

Despite the Mission Statement cited above it seems to me that this Index will be, at best, of mixed usefulness to a person following a controlled-carb approach to nutrition.

And, of course, the concept of a single number is easy to criticize, which is why I used a question mark for this thread's icon.

[LisaS]

I smell a plethora of "7 super foods" articles in the fall magazines.

popcorn higher than chicken breast? really? srsly?

unless they fully publish the gist of the algorithm and weightings it seems less than useful - it's been presented to "the establishment" under a non-disclosure - but that establishment is largely supportive of the food pyramid, the lipid hypothesis and other things that I might disagree with or have a different emphasis of evidence

[bigdawg_SLC]

I smell a plethora of "7 super foods" articles in the fall magazines.

popcorn higher than chicken breast? really? srsly?

unless they fully publish the gist of the algorithm and weightings it seems less than useful - it's been presented to "the establishment" under a non-disclosure - but that establishment is largely supportive of the food pyramid, the lipid hypothesis and other things that I might disagree with or have a different emphasis of evidence

No Kidding... I get a kick out of what the "experts" are saying ... when Popcorn has a higher value than chicken .... somethings going on screwy!:exclamation::tongue::tongue:

[maxlharris]

I have a single number that is fairly useful.

And it's already on most packaging.

Carbs.

Things with a lot, are not worth eating. Things with a little, are better choices.

[bigdawg_SLC]

I have a single number that is fairly useful.

And it's already on most packaging.

Carbs.

Things with a lot, are not worth eating. Things with a little, are better choices.

Just so Amy can get into practice for church on Sunday ... can I get another "AMEN" ????

That's the first number I look at when buying packaged goods.

[Ammy]

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Gaelen]

James, since the post was inspired/provoked by a National Geo article, I moved it to Media Watch.

For the record--I look at two numbers on the labeled products I purchase--protein first, then carbs. Then I read the ingredients list.

But most of what I buy isn't really 'labeled,' because it's fresh food.
Yeah, even a hedonist can go label-less.

[James L]

FWIW, on January 2, 2008, Dr. David Katz, Yale University School of Medicine, and the inventor of the ONQI, responded (http://whattoeatbook.com/2008/01/01/the-first-topic-in-2008-food-scoring-systems/#comments) to some of the criticisms of the Index. Here is an excerpt from his response:
So now, yes, there are business interests involved. And there is intellectual property. But the fundamental workings of the ONQI algorithm were shared with [c. 100] scientists at a conference held in Washington, DC on 11/30/07 devoted to the purpose of transparency. ... The ONQI will soon be published in the peer-reviewed literature as well.