TABLE 2.

Indicators and their weights in the Balanced Food Choice Index¹

Indicator	Coding Rule	Weight2
No food group that includes only meat, fish, and/or eggs	Do all food groups that include meat, fish, and/or eggs also include ≥1 plant-based foods?	18
No food group that contains only dairy	Do all food groups that include dairy foods (milk or milk products) also include ≥1 plant-based foods?	18
Plant-based food sources for critical nutrients of plant-based diets	Does the guideline mention ≥1 plant-based food as a source of protein, iron, calcium, zinc, or omega-3 fatty acids?	≤15 points, 3 for each nutrient
Recommendations on how to obtain vitamin B-12 without animal-based foods	Does the guideline say that diets without or low in animal-based products require B-12 supplementation?	5
Plant-based meat alternatives	Does the guideline text mention/do the guideline graphics (food pyramids, plates, etc.) display ≥1 plant-based meat alternative and present it as a possible alternative?	≤6 points, 3 each for inclusion in texts and graphics
Plant-based milk alternatives	Does the guideline text mention/do the guideline graphics (food pyramids, plates, etc.) display ≥1 plant-based milk alternative and present it as a possible alternative?	≤6 points, 3 each for inclusion in texts and graphics
Plant-based dairy alternatives	Does the guideline text mention/do the guideline graphics (food pyramids, plates, etc.) display ≥1 plant-based alternative to dairy products (e.g., yogurt and cheese) and present it as a possible alternative?	≤6 points, 3 each for inclusion in texts and graphics
Recommendations on vegetarian diets	Does the guideline mention a form of a vegetarian diet and give any nutritional guidance about it?	12
Health benefits of vegetarian diets	Does the guideline point out the preventive potential of vegetarian diets in terms of noncommunicable diseases such as obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes?	9
Environmental sustainability benefits of vegetarian diets and/or plant-based foods	Does the guideline point out the lower resource usage and/or lower greenhouse gas emissions of vegetarian diets or plant-based foods vs. animal-based diets?	5
Potential sum		100

¹“Guideline”: any official document or web application that provides food-based dietary guidance for people in the general population (healthy adults who are not seniors, pregnant, or lactating). “Food group”: the guidelines’ largest unit of food grouping. “Plant-based alternatives”: products that are very similar to their respective animal-based products in terms of use.

²Full points if yes, zero points if no.