Prospective associations between a dietary index based on the British Food Standard Agency nutrient profiling system and 13-year weight gain in the SU.VI.MAX cohort.
OBJECTIVE
The scoring of the nutritional quality of individual foods using nutrient profiling systems (NPS) has been suggested as a basis for public health preventive measures. Used for front-of-package labeling, such scoring would help consumers in making healthier food choices. An individual dietary score based on the Food Standards Agency NPS has been developed (FSA-NPS-DI), but its long term association with weight gain has not been investigated. Our objectives were to investigate long-term associations between the FSA-NPS DI and weight gain and overweight/obesity onset in a middle-aged French population.


METHODS
Subjects included in the French SU.VI.MAX cohort with at least three dietary records at baseline and available anthropometric measurements at baseline and at a 13-year follow-up examination were included in the study. FSA-NPS DI at baseline was computed for each subject. Association between FSA-NPS DI and weight and BMI gain were investigated with ANCOVA and associations with overweight/obesity onset with logistic regression models.


RESULTS
Higher baseline FSA-NPS DI (reflecting a poorer diet) was associated with higher weight and BMI gain (beta Q4 versus Q1=0.70; (95%CI 0.01; 1.38), P for trend=0.04). A 16% higher risk of obesity for a 1 point increase of FSA-NPS DI was observed only in men.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that a shift in nutritional quality of the foods and beverages within an individual's diet, as expressed by the FSA-NPS DI would be associated with lower weight gain in the long term. Using the FSA-NPS as a basis for food labeling might therefore contribute to tackle obesity.
Université Paris 13, Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Statistiques, Inserm (U11530, Inra(U1125), Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne Paris Cité, 74 rue Marcel Cachin, F-93017 Bobigny, France; Département de Santé Publique, Hôpital Avicenne (AP-HP), F-93017 Bobigny, France.
Chantal
C
Julia
Université Paris 13, Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Statistiques, Inserm (U11530, Inra(U1125), Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne Paris Cité, 74 rue Marcel Cachin, F-93017 Bobigny, France.
Pauline
P
Ducrot
Université Paris 13, Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Statistiques, Inserm (U11530, Inra(U1125), Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne Paris Cité, 74 rue Marcel Cachin, F-93017 Bobigny, France.
Camille
C
Lassale
Université Paris 13, Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Statistiques, Inserm (U11530, Inra(U1125), Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne Paris Cité, 74 rue Marcel Cachin, F-93017 Bobigny, France.
Léopold
L
Fézeu
Université Paris 13, Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Statistiques, Inserm (U11530, Inra(U1125), Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne Paris Cité, 74 rue Marcel Cachin, F-93017 Bobigny, France.
Caroline
C
Méjean
Université Paris 13, Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Statistiques, Inserm (U11530, Inra(U1125), Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne Paris Cité, 74 rue Marcel Cachin, F-93017 Bobigny, France.
Sandrine
S
Péneau
Université Paris 13, Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Statistiques, Inserm (U11530, Inra(U1125), Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne Paris Cité, 74 rue Marcel Cachin, F-93017 Bobigny, France.
Mathilde
M
Touvier
Université Paris 13, Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Statistiques, Inserm (U11530, Inra(U1125), Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne Paris Cité, 74 rue Marcel Cachin, F-93017 Bobigny, France; Département de Santé Publique, Hôpital Avicenne (AP-HP), F-93017 Bobigny, France.
Serge
S
Hercberg
Université Paris 13, Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Statistiques, Inserm (U11530, Inra(U1125), Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne Paris Cité, 74 rue Marcel Cachin, F-93017 Bobigny, France.
Emmanuelle
E
Kesse-Guyot
D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004032:Diet / Q000592:standards*; D015930:Diet Records; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009753:Nutritive Value; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*
Cohort study; Dietary score; Nutrient profiling systems; Obesity; Weight gain