Diets quality: synthesis of methods based on nutritional indexes and scores

Food quality scores and indexes are simple but effective tools for the overall diets assessment. It has been shown that they are closely linked to the suitability of these diets for nutritional recommendations, and that they correctly reflect their quality. These indexes have also proven to be good indicators of household food security, as well as children nutritional status, especially their growth. The use of these scores and indexes has been very successful in both developed, and developing countries, after several efforts to harmonize their calculation methods. The diet quality index methodology focuses on dietary diversity, or on adequacy to nutritional recommendations. Among these, several scores, and indexes have been developed to assess adherence to the Mediterranean diet. The aim of this review is to present the different nutritional scores and indexes developed worldwide, and in the Mediterranean region to assess the diets quality.