In response to America’s troubling health trends – rapidly rising rates of obesity and diabetes in both the adult and child populations – a team of recognized medical and nutrition experts led by Dr. David Katz, advocated the development of an independent and simplified nutritional scoring system. Funded by Griffin Hospital, a non-profit community hospital and teaching affiliate of the Yale University School of Medicine located in Derby, CT, and home to the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, the project team established a mission to:

1. Develop an algorithm that measures the overall nutritional quality of individual foods and beverages and apply it across all food categories.
2. Simplify the output of the algorithm into an easy-to-use scoring system.
3. Put the scores – and the nutritional data behind them – directly into the hands of consumers.

The team worked for two years, referring to the most comprehensive science available, to develop the Overall Nutritional Quality Index (ONQI™), a patent-pending algorithm that summarizes the overall nutritional quality of food using a scale of 1-100. The ONQI algorithm is now the scientific engine behind the NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System, and together they help consumers make more informed and nutritious choices – one food at a time. The Development Process
Committed to the highest standards of scientific research and development, the project adhered to a stringent development process that included:

• Engagement of a multidisciplinary team of nutrition and public health scientists
• Avoidance of conflicts of interest
• Isolation of the science-based development effort from any outside or commercial influence
• Reliance on objective sources of data to the extent possible
• Transparency of methods
• A fully iterative process, with consensus-based decision making

The Scientists Behind the ONQI
A team of recognized nutrition and medical experts from disciplines spanning endocrinology, dietetics, epidemiology, cardiovascular disease, weight control, and pediatric nutrition drove the development of the ONQI algorithm: David L. Katz, MD, MPH, ONQI Chair
Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center
Expertise: general nutrition; preventive medicine; public health Keith Ayoob, EdD, RD
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Expertise: pediatric nutrition Leonard Epstein, MD
University of Buffalo
Inventor of the Traffic Light Diet
Expertise: traffic light food labeling; weight control David Jenkins, MD, PhD
University of Toronto
Inventor of the Glycemic Index
Expertise: nutritional biochemistry; diabetes; insulin metabolism; glycemic effects of food Francine Kaufman, MD
University of Southern California
Past President of the American Diabetes Association
Expertise: pediatric endocrinology Robert Kushner, MD
Northwestern University
Expertise: general internal medicine; dietary counseling; weight management Ronald Prior, PhD
Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center, USDA HNRC Expertise: nutritional biochemistry; micronutrients Rebecca Reeves, PhD, RD
Baylor College of Medicine
Past President, American Dietetic Association
Expertise: general dietetics Barbara Rolls, PhD
Pennsylvania State University
Author of Volumetrics
Expertise: appetite control; weight management; satiety Sachiko St. Jeor, PhD, RD
University of Nevada
Expertise: cardiovascular disease; general dietetics Walter Willett, MD, DrPH
Harvard University School of Public Health
Expertise: nutritional epidemiology