Knowing the Score

     Have you ever read one of those nutrition labels on the side of a food box and wondered what all those numbers meant?  I'm often left perplexed by the long list of categories and accompanying numbers and wonder just how healthy the food in the box or can really is.  And apparently a lot of others feel that way as well.
     In a collaboration between Topco Associates and the Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticut a simplified system was developed in 2008.  Dr. David Katz chaired a group at the Yale Prevention Research Center to create an "independent and simplified nutritional scoring system" which they termed the Overall Nutritional Quality Index or ONQI for short.  They examined 30 different factors like cholesterol, fat content, fiber, vitamins and minerals and calorie density and methodically combined them using an algorithm which converts complex nutritional information into a single, easy to use score.
     They termed their new system NuVal.  Each item studied is given a single numerical value between 1 and 100 with 100 being the top of the scale.  For example, blueberries receive a NuVal rating of 100 while Chips Ahoy! cookies get a score of 2.  (For a more complete sampling of scores click on the red highlighted term.)
     Several national market  chains are currently using the NuVal scoring system with the hope of educating the shopping public so better choices can be made and thus, better and more nutritious meals prepared.  Sadly none of our local market have signed on with the project.  And that is a shame because it can reduce the complexity of factoring a dozen numbers in one's head while pushing the grocery cart.
     The NuVal program is not without it's critics, however.  And it seems that the criticism is not with the mathematics of the system, but with it's use or potential misuse.  Some say that the NuVal numbers can be manipulated in meal preparation by including 2 healthy foods in an attempt to counteract 1 bad food.  But with that logic we could also assert that a car could potentially be a lethal weapon if not driven properly.  Each food product with a NuVal equivalent should stand alone on it's own merit.
     Is a single number easier to comprehend than a dozen?  Once the NuVal system gains national recognition I think we will all know the score.