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PATIENT PRESENTATION MARKER 

Food group exclusion

What this marker measures

Whether the patient reported excluding one or more categories of foods sharing a common attribute from their diet.

Health categories/Interpretations informed by this marker

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Clinical features
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‍● Dietary gaps: food group exclusion is a dietary feature that can affect nutritional adequacy. Exclusion of food groups, including animal-source foods or gluten-containing grains, may be associated with increased risk of nutritional inadequacy.1–3
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Interpreting the result

PRESENT
Questionnaire responses indicate excluding gluten, wheat, all grains, dairy, meat or all animal products, or more than one of vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds, legumes and grains.
NOT PRESENT
Questionnaire responses indicate not excluding any of the listed food groups.

Patient management insights

clinical management
Evaluate diet in detail: exclusion of food groups, including animal-source foods or gluten-containing grains, may be associated with increased risk of nutritional inadequacy.1–3
GRADE C

Tips for patients discussion

"Your questionnaire responses show that you leave out one or more food groups. There can be very good reasons for this, but it can make it harder to get all the nutrients you need, so it's worth looking at your diet in more detail together."

Source references for all clinical associations, interpretation definitions, and patient management insights on this card.

1. Niklewicz, A. et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of functional vitamin B12 status among adult vegans. Nutr Bull 49, 463–479 (2024).
2. Haider, L. M., Schwingshackl, L., Hoffmann, G. & Ekmekcioglu, C. The effect of vegetarian diets on iron status in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 58, 1359–1374 (2018).
3. Russell, L. A. et al. Micronutrient deficiencies associated with a gluten-free diet in patients with celiac disease and non-celiac gluten or wheat sensitivity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Med 14, 4848 (2025).

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