OMNI Nutrition Science, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Center for Public Health Nutrition, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Nutrients. 2023 Mar 5;15(5):1288. doi: 10.3390/nu15051288.
Carbohydrate foods (≥40% energy from carbohydrates) are the main source of energy in the US diet. In contrast to national-level dietary guidance, many regularly consumed carbohydrate foods are low in fiber and whole grains but high in added sugar, sodium, and/or saturated fat. Given the important contribution of higher-quality carbohydrate foods to affordable healthy diets, new metrics are needed to convey the concept of carbohydrate quality to policymakers, food industry stakeholders, health professionals, and consumers. The recently developed Carbohydrate Food Quality Scoring System is well aligned with multiple key healthy messages on nutrients of public health concern from the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Two models are described in a previously published paper: one for all non-grain carbohydrate-rich foods (e.g., fruits, vegetables, legumes) known as the Carbohydrate Food Quality Score-4 (CFQS-4), and one for grain foods only known as the Carbohydrate Food Quality Score-5 (CFQS-5). These CFQS models provide a new tool that can guide policy, programs, and people towards improved carbohydrate food choices. Specifically, the CFQS models represent a way to unify and reconcile diverse ways to describe different types of carbohydrate-rich foods (e.g., refined vs. whole, starchy vs. non-starchy, dark green vs. red/orange) and make for more useful and informative messaging that better aligns with a food's nutritional and/or health contributions. The present paper's aims are to show that the CFQS models can inform future dietary guidelines and help support carbohydrate food recommendations with other health messages aimed at promoting foods that are nutrient-dense, fiber-rich, and low in added sugar.
碳水化合物食物（碳水化合物提供的能量占比≥40%）是美国饮食的主要能量来源。与国家级别的饮食指导不同，许多人们经常食用的碳水化合物食物纤维和全谷物含量低，但添加糖、钠和/或饱和脂肪含量高。鉴于更高质量的碳水化合物食物对负担得起的健康饮食的重要贡献，需要新的指标来向政策制定者、食品行业利益相关者、健康专业人士和消费者传达碳水化合物质量的概念。最近开发的碳水化合物食物质量评分系统与 2020-2025 年美国人饮食指南中关于公共卫生关注营养素的多个关键健康信息高度一致。在之前发表的一篇论文中描述了两种模型：一种用于所有非谷物富含碳水化合物的食物（例如，水果、蔬菜、豆类），称为碳水化合物食物质量评分-4（CFQS-4），另一种仅用于谷物食物，称为碳水化合物食物质量评分-5（CFQS-5）。这些 CFQS 模型提供了一种新工具，可以指导政策、计划和人们改善碳水化合物食物选择。具体来说，CFQS 模型代表了一种统一和协调不同类型富含碳水化合物食物描述方式的方法（例如，精制与全谷物、淀粉与非淀粉、深绿色与红色/橙色），并提供更有用和信息丰富的信息传递，更好地与食物的营养和/或健康贡献保持一致。本文的目的是表明 CFQS 模型可以为未来的饮食指南提供信息，并帮助支持其他旨在促进营养丰富、富含纤维和低糖的碳水化合物食物的健康信息的碳水化合物食物建议。
