Local food procurement behavior and overall diet quality among adults in Québec: results from the NutriQuébec project

Nutr J. 2024 Nov 14;23(1):143. doi: 10.1186/s12937-024-01045-w.

Abstract

Background: Consumption of locally produced foods is generally perceived as being part of a healthy dietary pattern. Accordingly, in 2020, the provincial government of Québec (Canada) promoted the purchase of local foods for economic and health benefits. The present cross-sectional study aimed to document the association between the behavior of local food procurement and overall diet quality in a sample of adults from the province of Québec.

Methods: Data were collected in a sample of 834 adults (86.6% females) from the NutriQuébec project, a web-based longitudinal population study that aims to document the lifestyle and eating habits of adults in Québec, Canada. Dietary intakes were measured using a validated web-based 24-h recall tool and diet quality was assessed using the Healthy Eating Food Index (HEFI-2019), which measures adherence to the 2019-Canada's Food Guide recommendations on healthy food choices. Local food procurement behavior was measured using the Locavore-I-SF score, which assesses the frequency of short food supply chain use as well as the geographical origin of three locally produced foods.

Results: The Locavore-I-SF score was weakly correlated with the HEFI-2019 score (r = 0.08, p < 0.02). Positive correlations were observed for the Vegetables and fruits (r = 0.09, p = 0.005), Beverages (r = 0.08, p = 0.04) and Free sugars (r = 0.14, p < 0.001) components of the HEFI-2019. Associations between the Locavore-I-SF and the HEFI-2019 scores were found in specific subgroups of participants: males (r = 0.33, p < 0.001), participants aged between 50 and 70 years (r = 0.16, p = 0.003), participants with a greater education level (r = 0.13, p = 0.003) and higher income (r = 0.12, p = 0.02), non-vegetarian participants (r = 0.10, p = 0.008) and participants living in Census Metropolitan Areas (r = 0.11, p = 0.004).

Conclusion: These results suggest that the behavior of local food procurement is only weakly associated with better overall diet quality among a sample of adults from Québec, raising doubts on the relevance of promoting local food procurement as an effective public health measure for improving diet quality in Québec.

Study registration number: NCT04140071.

Keywords: Diet quality; Healthy Eating Food Index-2019; Local food procurement.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Diet* / methods
  • Diet* / standards
  • Diet* / statistics & numerical data
  • Diet, Healthy* / standards
  • Diet, Healthy* / statistics & numerical data
  • Feeding Behavior
  • Female
  • Food Supply / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Quebec
  • Young Adult

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT04140071