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

Prev Med. 2015 Dec:81:189-94. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.08.022. Epub 2015 Sep 5.

Abstract

Background/objectives: 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.

Subjects/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.

Keywords: Cohort study; Dietary score; Nutrient profiling systems; Obesity; Weight gain.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Body Mass Index
  • Diet / standards*
  • Diet Records
  • Feeding Behavior
  • Female
  • France
  • Humans
  • Logistic Models
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Nutrition Policy
  • Nutritive Value*
  • Obesity / prevention & control
  • Prospective Studies
  • Weight Gain / physiology*