SynthesisPloS one2026
Food-based indices for the assessment of nutritive value and environmental impact of meals and diets: A systematic review.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Food production and consumption impact both human and planetary health. Clearly conveying how meals and diets influence nutritional adequacy and environmental sustainability is essential for informed decision-making among consumers. This systematic review identifies and examines existing food-based indices that classify or rank meals and diets based on both nutritive value and environmental impact, that the authors termed Nutritive and Environmental Combined Indices (NECIs). Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, six bibliographic databases were searched in August 2025 using four search concepts: nutrition, environment, index, and meal/diet. Studies assessing both nutritive value and environmental impact of meals or diets, published between January 2009 and August 2025, were included. Two independent reviewers screened studies and extracted data on NECI characteristics. The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42024537149). Twenty-five NECIs, presenting 27 methodological approaches, were identified: six specific to meals, nine for diets, and ten offering scope to be applied to either. Nutritive and Environmental Combined Indices varied widely in scoring methods, with 13 different nutritional and six different environmental scoring approaches. Presentation formats also differed: 19 used a single integrated metric, four reported scores in parallel, and two used both. Additionally, 12 NECIs considered other dimensions of sustainability, primarily economic (n = 10) followed by socio-cultural (n = 6). Among integrated NECIs, variations were observed in dimension weighting, methodological approaches, and ranking criteria. A strength of this review is its focus on NECIs beyond individual food products, assessing their applicability to meals and diets. The review synthesises factors such as nutritional and environmental scoring methodologies, functional units, system boundaries, composite scoring techniques, weighting approaches, index scoring frameworks, and databases used. However, significant methodological variation among NECIs posed challenges for direct comparison. These findings provide a foundation for the development of standardised NECIs, supporting public health efforts to promote healthy and sustainable meal and diet choices.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.