What is the healthy diet score? A comprehensive guide to evaluating your nutritional health

October 23, 2025 •

5 min read

According to the USDA, the average American diet scores low on the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), highlighting a significant gap between our actual eating patterns and recommended guidelines. This reveals the vital need to understand what is the healthy diet score, a metric designed to assess and quantify the healthfulness of a person's diet for improved long-term well-being.

Quick Summary

Healthy diet scores use standardized indices to measure how closely a person's eating habits align with dietary recommendations. These scores, like the Healthy Eating Index, evaluate the intake of both encouraged and limited foods to provide a single metric of overall diet quality.

Key Points

Measurement of Diet Quality: A healthy diet score, such as the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), quantifies how well a diet aligns with nutritional guidelines on a scale (e.g., 0-100).
Based on Adequacy and Moderation: Scoring systems evaluate both adequacy (encouraged foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) and moderation (foods to limit, such as sodium and saturated fats).
Strong Link to Health Outcomes: A higher diet score is consistently associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases, increased longevity, and better overall health.
Improvement is Actionable: Enhancing your score involves prioritizing whole foods, lean proteins, and healthy fats while reducing processed foods, added sugars, and sodium.
Factors Beyond Food: An individual's diet score can be influenced by socioeconomic status, age, gender, and access to healthy food options.
Different Scoring Systems Exist: The HEI is one of several metrics; others like Nutri-Score provide food-specific ratings, and national scores like CSIRO's offer local benchmarking.

What is the healthy diet score?

A healthy diet score is a quantitative measure that assesses the overall quality and adherence of an individual’s or population's diet to established nutritional guidelines. Rather than focusing on single nutrients or foods, these scoring systems evaluate the entire dietary pattern. The most prominent example is the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) developed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The score is based on a scale of 0 to 100, where a higher score indicates better diet quality and closer alignment with key dietary recommendations. Higher scores have been consistently linked to better health outcomes, including a reduced risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.

How a healthy diet score is calculated

The calculation for a healthy diet score, such as the HEI, involves summing up points from various dietary components. The HEI-2020, for example, consists of 13 components, which are divided into two main categories: adequacy components and moderation components. Each component is assigned a maximum score, and an individual's diet is evaluated against these standards. A crucial aspect of this scoring system is that it separates dietary quality from quantity, typically assessing food groups per 1,000 calories to ensure a fair comparison.

The adequacy components (more is better)

For these components, the goal is to consume more to achieve a higher score. They represent the food groups and nutrients that are encouraged for optimal health. A diet rich in these components supports muscle growth, bolsters immunity, and provides essential vitamins and minerals.

Total Fruits: Measures the intake of all fruits.
Whole Fruits: Specifically assesses the consumption of whole fruits, as opposed to fruit juices.
Total Vegetables: Evaluates the intake of all types of vegetables.
Greens and Beans: Accounts for consumption of nutrient-dense leafy greens and legumes.
Whole Grains: Awards points for eating whole grains like oats, brown rice, and whole-wheat products.
Dairy: Scores intake of milk, yogurt, and cheese, with preference for lower-fat versions.
Total Protein Foods: Measures intake from various protein sources.
Seafood and Plant Proteins: Encourages the consumption of seafood, nuts, seeds, and beans.
Fatty Acids: Evaluates the ratio of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats to saturated fats, with a higher ratio being more desirable.

The moderation components (less is better)

For these components, a lower intake results in a higher score. They represent dietary elements that should be limited to reduce health risks.

Refined Grains: Scores based on reduced intake of refined grains like white bread and pasta.
Sodium: Points are awarded for lower sodium consumption.
Added Sugars: Aims to reduce intake of sugars added during processing or preparation.
Saturated Fats: Scores based on consuming less saturated fat.

Comparing healthy diet scores: HEI vs. other metrics

While the HEI is a widely used research tool, other scoring systems exist, each with a different focus. The Nutri-Score, for instance, is a color-coded front-of-pack label that rates foods from 'A' (best) to 'E' (worst). The CSIRO Healthy Diet Score is an online tool developed for Australians based on their national guidelines. The following table compares key characteristics of these different systems.


Feature	Healthy Eating Index (HEI)	Nutri-Score	CSIRO Healthy Diet Score
Purpose	Measures adherence to the US Dietary Guidelines for Americans.	Front-of-pack label to help consumers compare nutritional value.	Online assessment for individuals to compare diet to Australian guidelines.
Scoring	0 to 100 points. Higher score is better.	5-color, 5-letter system (A-E).	0 to 100 points, derived from an online survey.
Evaluation Unit	Total diet based on intake over 24 hours.	Individual food product (per 100g or 100ml).	Individual's overall diet based on a survey.
Components	13 components (adequacy and moderation).	Energy, sugar, saturated fat, sodium (negative); fiber, protein, fruits/veggies/legumes (positive).	Assesses intake from five food groups and discretionary foods.
Primary Use	Public health monitoring, research, clinical settings.	Consumer guidance at the point of purchase.	Personalized feedback and benchmarking.

How to improve your healthy diet score

Improving a healthy diet score involves making strategic shifts in your eating patterns. A high score is not about a perfect diet but about making consistent, balanced choices. Here are some effective strategies:

Prioritize whole foods: Increase your intake of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Aim for a wide variety of colorful produce, as different colors indicate different nutrients. Consider making half your plate fruits and vegetables at each meal.
Choose healthy proteins and fats: Opt for lean proteins like fish, poultry, beans, and nuts. Replace saturated fats found in butter and fatty meats with unsaturated fats from sources like olive oil, nuts, and avocados.
Limit refined foods and added sugars: Drastically cut down on refined grains, which are low in fiber, and reduce your consumption of added sugars found in sodas, sweets, and processed snacks. Replace sugary drinks with water or herbal tea.
Reduce sodium intake: Choose fresh foods over pre-packaged or processed options, which are often high in sodium. Use herbs and spices to flavor your food instead of relying on salt.
Practice mindful eating and home cooking: Preparing more meals at home gives you greater control over ingredients, portion sizes, and preparation methods. This minimizes exposure to hidden sugars, sodium, and unhealthy fats often found in restaurant or pre-made foods.

Factors influencing a healthy diet score

While personal choice plays a major role, several broader factors can influence an individual's healthy diet score. Socioeconomic status, access to fresh food, and age can all impact dietary patterns and, consequently, one's score. Older adults tend to have slightly higher scores, while younger adults may score lower due to different eating habits. Factors like education, income, and occupation can also correlate with diet quality. These external factors underscore the importance of public health initiatives and access to healthy food environments to support better nutrition for everyone.

Conclusion

Understanding what a healthy diet score is provides a valuable framework for assessing and improving one's diet quality. Metrics like the Healthy Eating Index effectively translate complex dietary recommendations into a simple, quantitative score that correlates strongly with long-term health outcomes. By focusing on increasing the intake of nutrient-rich whole foods and moderating refined grains, added sugars, and unhealthy fats, individuals can systematically improve their score and, most importantly, their overall health and longevity. It is a powerful tool for both personal dietary monitoring and public health initiatives aimed at reducing chronic disease burden.

For those interested in exploring healthier dietary patterns, additional resources are available. For example, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's "Healthy Eating Plate" offers a clear visual guide to building balanced meals based on evidence-based research.(https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/healthy-eating-plate/)

Frequently Asked Questions

The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is a scoring system developed by the USDA to measure how well a person's diet conforms to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It evaluates both recommended and limited dietary components on a scale of 0 to 100, where higher scores indicate a healthier diet.

While the HEI is primarily a research tool, some organizations offer online assessments based on similar principles. For example, Australia's CSIRO provides a free online Healthy Diet Score survey for individuals to assess their diet quality.

While a score of 100 is the theoretical maximum, achieving it is rare. Even exemplary healthy eating patterns often score in the high 80s or 90s. The goal is to improve your score over time, not necessarily to be perfect.

According to the USDA, the average HEI-2020 score for adults aged 2 and older is 58 out of 100. This indicates that the average American diet does not align well with dietary recommendations.

Adequacy components (like fruits and whole grains) are scored in a way that higher intake leads to a higher component score. Moderation components (like sodium and added sugars) are scored inversely, where lower intake results in a higher score.

Healthy diet scores like the HEI are designed to assess diet quality, not quantity. The components are often measured per 1,000 calories to ensure that the scoring is independent of total energy intake and focuses on the nutritional density of the diet.

To boost your score, increase consumption of whole foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains), switch to lean proteins and healthy fats, and reduce intake of refined grains, added sugars, and high-sodium processed foods. Cooking at home more often can also help.