Dive Brief:

• Researchers at Virginia Tech have developed the Healthy Beverage Index (HBI), a new scoring method to assess beverage intake. Using a scale of 0 to 100, the HBI evaluates dietary consumption of all types of fluids, with a higher score indicating a more favorable fluid intake profile.
• The 10-item scoring index takes into consideration total energy from beverages, total fluid requirements, and recommended limits for beverage subgroups, such as milk, fruit juice, and alcohol, reports Nutrition Insight. Beverages, such as water, recognized as important to good health are weighted more heavily, while beverages (fruit juice, alcohol, milk) that experts recommend limiting are weighted less heavily.
• The researchers conducted a study using dietary and health data from over 16,000 adults who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (2005-2010). Higher HBI scores correlated with better lipid profiles and decreased risk of hypertension for both men and women, and with better C-reactive protein (CRP) levels for men.

Dive Insight:

At this time, the HBI is a research tool unlikely to be available to consumers, though doctors may adopt it to evaluate patients. "A Healthy Beverage Index (HBI), similar to the Healthy Eating Index, could be used to evaluate overall beverage intake quality and to determine if improvements in beverage intake patterns are associated with improvements in health," according to researcher Kiyah J. Duffey, PhD, of the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Tech University. "A great deal of attention has been directed at sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake, and a broader focus beyond just SSBs is needed."

Given that, any direct effect on beverage manufacturers would likely be down the road, continuing the trends of consumer focus on decreased sugar consumption and increased nutrient benefits, soft drinks losing market share, and more consumers reading labels.