TABLE 3.
GDQS and GDQS submetric food groups and scoring1
| Food group | Categories of consumed amounts (g/d) | Point values | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Food groups included in the GDQS and GDQS+ | ||||||||
| Healthy | ||||||||
| Citrus fruits | <24 | 24–69 | >69 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Deep orange fruits | <25 | 25–123 | >123 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Other fruits | <27 | 27–107 | >107 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Dark green leafy vegetables | <13 | 13–37 | >37 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| Cruciferous vegetables | <13 | 13–36 | >36 | 0 | 0.25 | 0.5 | ||
| Deep orange vegetables | <9 | 9–45 | >45 | 0 | 0.25 | 0.5 | ||
| Other vegetables | <23 | 23–114 | >114 | 0 | 0.25 | 0.5 | ||
| Legumes | <9 | 9–42 | >42 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| Deep orange tubers | <12 | 12–63 | >63 | 0 | 0.25 | 0.5 | ||
| Nuts and seeds | <7 | 7–13 | >13 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| Whole grains | <8 | 8–13 | >13 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Liquid oils | <2 | 2–7.5 | >7.5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Fish and shellfish | <14 | 14–71 | >71 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Poultry and game meat | <16 | 16–44 | >44 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Low fat dairy | <33 | 33–132 | >132 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Eggs | <6 | 6–32 | >32 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Food groups included in the GDQS and GDQS- | ||||||||
| Unhealthy in excessive amounts | ||||||||
| High fat dairy (in milk equivalents)2 | <35 | 35–142 | >142–734 | >734 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Red meat | <9 | 9–46 | >46 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Unhealthy | ||||||||
| Processed meat | <9 | 9–30 | >30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Refined grains and baked goods | <7 | 7–33 | >33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Sweets and ice cream | <13 | 13–37 | >37 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Sugar-sweetened beverages | <57 | 57–180 | >180 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Juice | <36 | 36–144 | >144 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| White roots and tubers | <27 | 27–107 | >107 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Purchased deep fried foods | <9 | 9–45 | >45 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
1
GDQS, Global Diet Quality Score; GDQS-, GDQS Negative Submetric; GDQS+, GDQS Positive Submetric.
2
Due to the importance of cheese in many food cultures and the significantly different nutrient density of hard cheeses in comparison with other dairy products, we recommend converting consumed masses of hard cheeses to milk equivalents when calculating total consumption of high fat dairy for the purpose of assigning a GDQS consumption category [using cheddar cheese as a typical example, a conversion factor of 6.1 can be computed as the mass of 1 serving of milk (237 mL × 0.95 g/mL = 225 g) divided by an isocaloric mass of cheddar cheese (37 g)] (38).