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Validation of the FSA nutrient profiling system dietary index in French adults—findings from SUVIMAX study

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Abstract

Purpose

Population-wide nutritional recommendations give guidance on food groups’ consumption, though a wide variability in nutritional quality within groups may subsist. Nutrient profiling systems may help capturing such variability. We aimed to apply and validate a dietary index based on the British Food Standards Agency nutrient profiling system (FSA-NPS DI) in French middle-aged adults.

Methods

Dietary data were collected through repeated 24-h dietary records in participants of the Supplémentation en Vitamines et Minéraux Antioxydants study (N = 5882). An aggregated dietary index at the individual level was computed using the FSA-NPS for each food consumed as well as compliance to the French nutritional guidelines using the Programme National Nutrition Santé-Guideline Score (PNNS-GS). Cross-sectional associations between FSA-NPS DI and nutrient intake, PNNS-GS, socio-demographic factors, lifestyle and nutritional biomarkers were computed using ANOVAs.

Results

The FSA-NPS DI was able to characterize the quality of the diets at the individual level in terms of nutrient intake and of adherence to nutritional recommendations: +37.6 % in beta-carotene intakes between subjects with a healthier diet versus subjects with a poorer diet, +42.8 % in vitamin C intakes; +17 % in PNNS-GS, all P < 0.001. FSA-NPS-DI was also associated with nutritional status at the biological level: +21.4 % in beta-carotene levels between subjects with a healthier diet versus subjects with a poorer diet, +12.8 % in vitamin C levels, all P < 0.001.

Conclusions

The FSA-NPS DI is a useful and validated tool to discriminate individuals according to the quality of the diet, accounting for nutritional quality within food groups. Taking into account nutritional quality of individual foods allows monitoring change in dietary patterns beyond food groups.

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Author contributions

C.J. and E.K.-G. carried out data checking and analyses and were responsible for drafting the manuscript. C.M., M.T., S.P., C.L., P.D., S.H. and P.G. were involved in interpreting results and editing the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Biostatistiques, Inserm U1153, Inra U1125, Cnam, COMUE, Paris 5 University, Paris 7 University, 74 rue Marcel Cachin, 93017, Bobigny Cedex, France

    Chantal Julia, Caroline Méjean, Mathilde Touvier, Sandrine Péneau, Camille Lassale, Pauline Ducrot, Serge Hercberg & Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot

  2. Département de Santé Publique, Hôpital Avicenne (AP-HP), 93017, Bobigny, France

    Chantal Julia & Serge Hercberg

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  1. Chantal Julia
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  2. Caroline Méjean
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  3. Mathilde Touvier
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  4. Sandrine Péneau
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  8. Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot
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Correspondence to Chantal Julia.

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Julia, C., Méjean, C., Touvier, M. et al. Validation of the FSA nutrient profiling system dietary index in French adults—findings from SUVIMAX study. Eur J Nutr 55, 1901–1910 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-015-1006-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-015-1006-y

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