What is the Nutrient Balance Score?

December 24, 2025 •

3 min read

According to a 2015 study in PLOS One, the Nutrient Balance Concept was developed as a new approach to nutrient profiling, assessing the overall nutritional quality of foods and meals. This metric provides a science-based method to numerically define a food's nutrient balance score.

Quick Summary

The Nutrient Balance Concept (NBC) is a system assessing food and diet nutritional quality using indices for beneficial and detrimental nutrients, standardized by energy intake.

Key Points

Three Core Metrics: The NBC uses the Qualifying Index (QI), Disqualifying Index (DI), and Nutrient Balance (NB) Score to assess nutritional quality.
Assesses Entire Meals: The NBC evaluates the nutritional contribution of entire meals and complete diets, not just single products.
Balancing Nutrients: The score compares beneficial nutrients (qualifying) against detrimental components (disqualifying) relative to energy content.
Focus on Nutrient Density: Foods with a high QI (over 1.0) are considered nutrient-dense.
Standardized by Energy: Metrics are standardized to energy content for comparable evaluation independent of portion size.
Influenced by Preparation: Food processing and cooking methods can significantly impact the nutrient balance score.

What is the Nutrient Balance Concept (NBC)?

The Nutrient Balance Concept (NBC) is a scientific framework for evaluating the overall nutritional quality of foods, meals, and diets. It aims to provide a comprehensive measure of how food combinations meet nutritional needs while avoiding excess. This concept supports balanced nutrient intake for optimal health.

Unlike some consumer-facing labels, the NBC is designed for detailed analysis of dietary patterns. It is used by researchers and dietitians to assess the nutritional contribution of food combinations. The NBC uses three specific metrics.

The Three Metrics of the Nutrient Balance Concept

The NBC utilizes three interconnected metrics.

The Qualifying Index (QI): This index measures a food's nutrient density based on beneficial 'qualifying nutrients' like protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. A QI over 1.0 suggests a nutrient-dense food.
The Disqualifying Index (DI): The DI assesses a food's content of ingredients considered unhealthy in excess, such as saturated fats, sugar, and sodium. A DI below 1.0 indicates acceptable levels.
The Nutrient Balance (NB) Score: This metric represents the percentage of daily qualifying nutrient requirements met by a food, meal, or diet. A score of 100% means the item, based on a 2000 kcal intake, fully meets daily qualifying nutrient needs without excess of any single nutrient.

How the Indices are Calculated

For a 2000 kcal diet, indices are calculated using the proportion of a food's nutrient content relative to its Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) or Maximum Reference Value (MRV). The QI and DI are the arithmetic means of these ratios. The final NB score caps individual qualifying nutrient indices at 1.0 to prevent a single high value from inflating the score.

Comparison of Nutrient Scoring Systems

For a comparison table detailing the Nutrient Balance Concept alongside Nutri-Score and Health Star Rating, please refer to {Link: PLOS One https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0130491}.

How to Improve Your Nutrient Balance

Improving nutrient balance involves increasing intake of qualifying nutrients and reducing disqualifying ones.

Prioritize nutrient-dense foods: Focus on foods high in beneficial nutrients, like fruits, vegetables, legumes, and lean proteins.
Diversify your diet: Eating a variety of foods helps ensure a full spectrum of qualifying nutrients. Combining different foods can improve the NB score.
Limit processed foods: Reduce intake of processed items high in saturated fat, sugar, and sodium to lower your DI.
Choose whole grains: Opt for whole-grain products for more fiber and other nutrients.
Stay hydrated: Drink water instead of sugary beverages.

Factors that Influence a Nutrient Balance Score

Several factors influence a meal or diet's nutrient balance:

Food Processing: Processing impacts a food's nutritional profile. A homemade meal will differ from a processed version due to variations in sodium, sugar, and fat.
Cooking Methods: Preparation affects nutrient content. Frying adds fat, while steaming or roasting preserves nutrients.
Nutrient Complementarity: The NBC assesses how combining foods improves nutritional quality, such as pairing vegetables with healthy fats for better vitamin absorption.
Serving Size: While indices are standardized by energy, the actual portion size affects nutrient load.
Health Conditions: Conditions can affect nutrient absorption and metabolism, influencing how diet impacts health.

Conclusion: A Scientific Approach to Optimal Nutrition

The Nutrient Balance Score, as part of the NBC, offers a sophisticated method for assessing food and meal nutritional quality. By standardizing against energy and considering both beneficial and detrimental nutrients, it provides a comprehensive evaluation. It's a valuable tool for researchers, dietitians, and food manufacturers. For individuals, applying the principles emphasizes nutrient-dense whole foods, dietary diversity, and limiting processed items for a healthier lifestyle.

For more technical information, see {Link: PLOS One https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0130491}.

Frequently Asked Questions

The NBC is a scientific metric for assessing entire meals and diets, while Nutri-Score is a simpler label for comparing single packaged products within the same category.

The NBC's indices are standardized to energy content, typically a 2000 kcal diet, providing a consistent basis for comparison independent of a single food's portion size.

Qualifying nutrients are essential beneficial elements like protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals that contribute positively to the NBC's Qualifying Index.

Disqualifying nutrients are components detrimental in excess, including saturated fats, sugar, and sodium, factored into the NBC's Disqualifying Index.

Calculating a precise score is complex, typically used in research. However, you can improve your balance by focusing on nutrient-dense whole foods (high QI) and reducing processed foods high in sugar, salt, and saturated fats (high DI).

While the NBC focuses on nutrient composition, it can reflect the lower nutritional value of ultra-processed foods, often high in disqualifying nutrients. Other systems are adapting to specifically address ultra-processing.

Manufacturers can use the NBC for product reformulation to improve nutritional quality by adjusting recipes to increase qualifying nutrients and decrease disqualifying ones.