Mertens Elly, Peñalvo José L
Unit of Non-communicable Diseases, Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.
Front Nutr. 2023 Jan 13;9:1080858. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1080858. eCollection 2022.
Front-of-pack labels, such as Nutri-Score, aim to offer clear information on the overall nutritional quality of foods and beverages to consumers, allowing them to make healthier food choices. Using the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database, the present study aims to map out European food consumption patterns by applying the Nutri-Score as a benchmark for nutritional value.
Country-specific food consumption data, collected by multiple 24-h dietary recalls or food records available from EFSA, were linked to the Dutch Food Composition Database (NEVO). Foods and beverages consumed by adolescents (10-17 years), adults (18-64 years), and the elderly (65-74 years) were graded following the modified Food Standard Agency Nutrient Profiling System (FSAm-NPS) and classified according to Nutri-Score grading, from A to E. Subsequently, a dietary index score (FSAm-NPS-DI) was calculated for each country-specific diet by age-groups and sex as an energy-weighted mean of the FSAm-NPS score of all foods and beverages consumed, with lower scores for a diet of greater overall nutritional quality.
On average, the daily energy intake of adults across the European countries studied is distributed in 27.6% of A-, 12.9% of B-, 17% of C-, 30.0% of D-, and 12.5% of E-classified foods and beverages. This energy distribution, according to the Nutri-Score, corresponded to a median FSAm-NPS-DI score of 6.34 (interquartile range: 5.92, 7.19). For both adult males and females, Estonia reported the highest energy share from A-classified products, scoring the lowest on the FSAm-NPS-DI. On the other hand, Latvia reported the highest energy share from E-classified products, along with the highest FSAm-NPS-DI. Females and the elderly group reported, in general, a greater energy share from A- and a lower share from E-classified products, and had the lowest FSAm-NPS-DI scores. No sex-related difference was observed for adolescents whose share of energy was predominantly from A- and D-classified products, such as for adults and the elderly.
Our analyses leveraging the secondary use of country-specific databases on dietary intakes found considerable variation in the nutritional value of European diets, with an overall agreement across all countries on a modestly healthier dietary profile for the elderly and among females.
包装正面标签，如营养评分，旨在向消费者提供有关食品和饮料总体营养质量的清晰信息，使他们能够做出更健康的食品选择。本研究利用欧洲食品安全局（EFSA）的欧洲食品综合消费数据库，旨在将营养评分作为营养价值基准来描绘欧洲的食品消费模式。
通过多次24小时膳食回顾或从EFSA获得的食物记录收集的特定国家食品消费数据，与荷兰食品成分数据库（NEVO）相关联。按照修改后的食品标准局营养成分分析系统（FSAm-NPS）对青少年（10 - 17岁）、成年人（18 - 64岁）和老年人（65 - 74岁）消费的食品和饮料进行分级，并根据营养评分等级从A到E进行分类。随后，按年龄组和性别为每个特定国家的饮食计算膳食指数得分（FSAm-NPS-DI），作为所有消费的食品和饮料的FSAm-NPS得分的能量加权平均值，总体营养质量较高的饮食得分较低。
在所研究的欧洲国家中，成年人的每日能量摄入平均分布在27.6%的A级、12.9%的B级、17%的C级、30.0%的D级和12.5%的E级分类食品和饮料中。根据营养评分，这种能量分布对应的FSAm-NPS-DI得分中位数为6.34（四分位间距：5.92，7.19）。对于成年男性和女性，爱沙尼亚报告的A级分类产品能量占比最高，FSAm-NPS-DI得分最低。另一方面，拉脱维亚报告的E级分类产品能量占比最高，并伴有最高的FSAm-NPS-DI得分。总体而言，女性和老年群体报告的A级产品能量占比更高，E级分类产品能量占比更低，且FSAm-NPS-DI得分最低。对于青少年，未观察到与性别相关的差异，其能量主要来自A级和D级分类产品，与成年人和老年人情况相同。
我们利用特定国家膳食摄入数据库的二次使用进行的分析发现，欧洲饮食的营养价值存在相当大的差异，所有国家总体上一致认为老年人和女性的饮食模式略更健康。
