The 2024 Impact Factor and Journal Ranking
According to the 2025 Journal Citation Reports released by Clarivate, the Annual Review of Nutrition was assigned a 2024 Impact Factor of 13.4. This places the journal in a highly prestigious position, ranking second out of 112 journals in the competitive "Nutrition & Dietetics" category. Published by Annual Reviews, a publisher with a strong reputation in academic circles, the journal's high impact factor reflects its significant influence and the scholarly importance of its content. Its 5-year Impact Factor further reinforces its strong standing, measured at 14.8.
The Nature of a Review Journal
It is important to understand that the Annual Review of Nutrition is a review journal, publishing comprehensive and authoritative summaries of the latest research in the field. These review articles are known to be cited more frequently than typical original research papers, a factor that contributes significantly to the journal's consistently high impact factor. The journal covers a wide scope of nutrition science, which includes:
- Energy metabolism
- Macronutrients (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins)
- Micronutrients (vitamins, minerals)
- Nutritional genomics
- Clinical nutrition and epidemiology
- Public health nutrition
How the Impact Factor is Calculated
The Journal Impact Factor is calculated by taking the number of citations a journal's articles received in a specific year and dividing it by the total number of citable articles published in that journal during the two preceding years. The formula is as follows:
$$ Impact Factor_{Year} = \frac{\text{Citations in Year (Y)}}{\text{Citable articles in Year (Y-1) and (Y-2)}} $$
For example, the 2024 Impact Factor was based on citations received in 2024 for articles published in 2022 and 2023. A high impact factor like that of the Annual Review of Nutrition signifies that its recent articles are frequently referenced by other researchers, highlighting their relevance and influence within the academic community.
Key Related Metrics for Annual Review of Nutrition
While the Impact Factor is a prominent metric, other indicators also provide insight into a journal's standing. For the Annual Review of Nutrition, these include:
- 5-Year Impact Factor: At 14.8, this metric accounts for a longer citation window, offering a more stable measure of influence, especially in fields where articles take longer to gain citations.
- CiteScore: Based on Scopus data, the journal's CiteScore is 22.3, using a four-year citation window for its calculation.
- SCImago Journal Rank (SJR): With an SJR of 4.435, this metric uses a more sophisticated algorithm that weighs citations based on the prestige of the citing journal, giving more value to citations from influential sources.
- H-Index: The journal has an H-Index of 184, an author-level metric that can also apply to journals, indicating both the productivity and citation impact of its publications.
Impact Factor vs. Other Journal Metrics: A Comparison
To provide a holistic view of journal performance, it's useful to compare the Impact Factor with other metrics. Each has its own strengths and limitations.
| Metric | Calculation Window | What it Measures | Potential Bias |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journal Impact Factor (JIF) | 2-year period | Average citations per article in the previous two years. | Highly cited review articles can inflate the score; short timeframe may disadvantage slow-moving fields. |
| 5-Year Impact Factor | 5-year period | Average citations per article over a five-year window. | Provides a more stable measure than JIF but can still be influenced by highly cited papers. |
| CiteScore | 4-year period | Average citations per peer-reviewed document over a four-year window. | Uses a longer period and potentially larger dataset (Scopus) than JIF, offering a different perspective. |
| SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) | 3-year period | Journal prestige based on weighted citations from other reputable journals. | Weighs citations by prestige, providing an alternative to raw citation counts. |
Factors Influencing a Review Journal's High Impact Factor
The high impact factor of the Annual Review of Nutrition is not just a reflection of its quality, but also of the publication format itself. Review articles, which make up 100% of the journal's citable content, synthesize large bodies of research and are therefore highly utilized and frequently cited by scientists looking for comprehensive overviews of a specific topic. This systematic nature of review writing naturally generates more citations over time compared to a single, focused original research paper. This characteristic places review journals in a unique position to achieve higher impact metrics, a phenomenon common across many academic fields.
Analyzing the Impact Factor Trend Over Time
The impact factor for the Annual Review of Nutrition has shown consistent strength, though with some year-to-year fluctuation, which is normal for any journal. Looking at historical data reveals a pattern of high influence:
- 2024 Impact Factor: 13.4
- 2023 Impact Factor: 10.366
- 2022/2023 Impact Factor: 8.9
- 2021 Impact Factor: 9.323
- 2020 Impact Factor: 11.848
This trend demonstrates the journal's sustained relevance and its consistent ability to attract and publish influential articles, making it a reliable and respected source of information within nutrition science. For researchers, understanding this historical performance is as important as looking at the latest figures.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Annual Review of Nutrition maintains a very high impact factor, with its 2024 value of 13.4 placing it among the most influential journals in the Nutrition & Dietetics category. Its status is a testament to its long-standing reputation for publishing high-quality, frequently-cited review articles. While its nature as a review journal gives it a natural advantage in the impact factor metric, this does not diminish its value as a premier resource for researchers. By considering this metric alongside other indicators like the 5-Year Impact Factor, CiteScore, and SJR, one can gain a comprehensive understanding of its significant role in advancing nutrition science. It is an essential publication for academics seeking authoritative summaries of key developments in the field.
To learn more about the broader context of journal evaluation and metric limitations, visit the Taylor & Francis Author Services guide on journal metrics: Understanding journal metrics.
