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Are more nutritious products available in the US food supply, and are they consumed more frequently?
Author(s) -
Gressier Mathilde,
Vlassopoulos Antonis,
Masset Gabriel,
Drewnowski Adam
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.314.2
Subject(s) - environmental health , food group , population , consumption (sociology) , food supply , national health and nutrition examination survey , serving size , food systems , medicine , business , agricultural science , agricultural economics , food science , food security , geography , agriculture , environmental science , economics , chemistry , social science , archaeology , sociology
Reformulation of the food supply has been identified as one of the way to tackle food related chronic diseases (along with others e.g. nutrition education or promotion of physical activity). Several food producers use nutrient profiling systems to guide their reformulation strategy. An example is the Nestlé Nutritional Profiling System (NNPS), a category‐specific system, whose outcome is dichotomous to distinguish more nutritious options within food categories. The objective of this study was to assess the proportion of products meeting the NNPS standards in the food supply, and their respective frequency of consumption. Methods Food intakes of US adults (aged 18y+) were retrieved from the first 24h recall of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011–12. All consumed food and beverage products amenable for reformulation were assessed against the NNPS. The proportion of products compliant with the system was evaluated (i) as available in the food supply (i.e. among the food composition dataset, FNDDS 2011–12), and (ii) weighted by frequency of consumptions. The foods were then grouped using the USDA Major Commodity groups. The analysis was further stratified by Income‐to‐Poverty Ratio. Results Among the 4110 food items consumed by the study population, 3111 could be assessed against the NNPS. The proportion of products meeting the NNPS standards in the food supply was 39.2%; whereas it was 49.6% when weighted by consumption. Within food groups, the consumption of more nutritious options (i.e. compliant with NNPS) did not appear to be associated with their availability (Figure). In dairy products, grain‐based products, sweets and beverages, and processed fruits, more nutritious options were more likely to be consumed. The opposite was observed in the other food groups. Further, there was a positive association between Income‐to‐Poverty Ratio and the consumption of more nutritious sweets and beverages and eggs products. The opposite was observed for legumes and processed fruits. Conclusion Reformulation of the food supply can be an effective way to enhance consumers' intakes only if the resulting products are actually consumed. This study showed that for each major food group, products meeting the NNPS standards existed and were consumed, but with a great heterogeneity between groups. For some groups there was a selection towards products with a better nutrient profile, meaning that the reformulation of these categories may be more easily accepted by consumers. For categories in which consumption of foods with a better profile was low, more efforts should be put on the sensory characteristics of reformulated products. Support or Funding Information This study was funded by Nestec SA.