Indices & metrics

B

BMI (body mass index) The ratio of weight to height squared, used to classify body size across populations, but whose interpretation for…

C

Calorie (and kilocalorie) A unit of measurement for the energy in food. The everyday "calorie" is actually a kilocalorie (kcal), the… CRP (C-reactive protein) A protein produced by the liver in response to inflammation, measured in the blood as an inflammatory marker,…

E

Energy balance The balance between calories consumed (food) and calories expended (metabolism + activity), the central determinant of weight gain,… Energy density The amount of calories in a given weight of food (kcal per gram), a key determinant of fullness… Energy expenditure The total calories burned in a day, the sum of basal metabolic rate, the thermic effect of food,…

F

Ferritin An iron storage protein whose blood level reflects the body's reserves, and the earliest marker of deficiency, well…

G

Glycaemic index (GI) A measure of the speed and extent of the rise in blood glucose (blood sugar) after eating a… Glycaemic load (GL) A measure that combines a food's glycaemic index with the amount of carbohydrate actually eaten in a given…

I

Insulin index A measure of the insulin response caused by a food, which can differ from its glycaemic index, showing…

N

NOVA system A system that classifies foods into 4 groups by their degree of industrial processing, developed to tell unprocessed… Nutri-Score A voluntary front-of-pack nutrition labelling system that grades foods from A (best nutritional profile) to E (poorest) using… Nutrient density The ratio between the amount of beneficial nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fibre) in a food and its calorie content,…

O

ORAC index A laboratory measure of a food's capacity to neutralise free radicals (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), long used to…

W

Waist circumference A measurement of abdominal girth, an indicator of visceral fat and a marker of cardiometabolic risk that is…