The Willingness to Modify Portion Sizes or Eat New Protein Foods Largely Depends on the Dietary Pattern of Protein Intake

International audiencePromoting a more balanced animal/plant dietary protein ratio by changing portion sizes or introducing new foods is a promising means to improve diet quality, but little is known about the willingness of individuals to adopt such changes. Our objective was to assess the willingness to adopt dietary changes by these means. In a French cross-sectional study in 2018 (n = 2055), we analyzed the association between the willingness to eat smaller or larger portions or to introduce non-consumed protein foods and the current dietary patterns of individuals and their socio-demographic characteristics. These modifications had previously been identified as improving the nutrient adequacy of diets. Participants were more willing to eat smaller portion sizes than to introduce new foods and to eat larger portion sizes. The willingness for any modification varied depending on the food groups concerned. Participants were also more willing to eat larger portions and less willing to eat smaller portions when they were the most frequent consumers of the foods concerned. Participants were more willing to eat a new food if it was consumed in large quantities by individuals with a similar dietary pattern. This study underlines the importance of accounting for individual food habits when issuing nutritional recommendations

New Data on the Syntaxonomic Diversity of Ponds Vegetation in the Saratov Region

The article provides new information about the syntaxonomic diversity of the aquatic vegetation of ponds in the Saratov region. Our studies were carried out in 2012-2014 in 15 districts of the Saratov region. The study of ponds vegetation was carried out through the detailed analysis with thorough description of aquatic vegetation, in accordance with common practice in the gidrobotanical methods. During the period of the study more than 3 000 gidrobotanical descriptions were made. The classification of plant communities was based on dominant and determinant approach to the selection of aquatic vegetation. The classification of the new association for the area was based on the comparison of our data with the data obtained by E.S. Shishkina. The community of 23 new associations is described. The prodromus of aquatic vegetation taking into account the new information is presented. The new association of formations Ceratophyllum submersum, Ceratophyllum tanaiticum, Batrachium trichophyllum, Potamogeton crispus and Najas major are described. The new information about one formation – Caulinia minor – is presented. The syntaxonomic diversity of aquatic vegetation of ponds of the Saratov region is premature. It is necessary to continue research on the vegetation of these interesting objects, especially in the distant Saratov districts, where there are many brackish ponds, vegetation of which is significantly different from fresh pond vegetation and fresh water. Key words: aquatic vegetation, ponds, Saratov region, syntaxonomy, diversity, associations, formations, hydrophytes

Potential unexpected effects of meat reduction in diet: Could educational attainment influence meat substitution strategies?

Abstract Regulation of meat consumption appears to be a relevant public policy to limit diet-related greenhouse gas emissions. However, the real impact of such a policy (e.g., tax) on human health and nutrition remains uncertain, especially for underprivileged individuals. Based on representative data from France, we estimate potential trend differences in the association between meat consumption and nutritional outcomes, such as body mass index (BMI) and unhealthy food intake, according to individual educational attainment. We reveal that among adults with low education levels, reduced meat consumption was significantly associated with a higher BMI, a higher risk of being overweight, and greater intake of ultra-processed foods, sweet drinks, and sugar. By contrast, reduced meat consumption was associated with healthier nutritional status for the most educated individuals. These results are robust to several measurements of socioeconomic status (SES) such as household income, occupation, and financial insecurity perception. In summary, high-SES individuals may be more prone to replace meat with healthy alternatives, whereas low-SES individuals may tend to replace meat with energy-dense foods and beverages, including ultra-processed foods. In terms of the contribution to science and society, this study is the first to show that SES changes the relationship between meat consumption and nutritional outcomes. Our findings call for future research on this topic to provide actionable recommendations to implement a fair and healthy food transition

Associations between perceived social eating norms and initiation and maintenance of changes in dietary habits during the first COVID‐19 lockdown in France

Changes in dietary habits of the French population have been reported during the national lockdown that was enforced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated whether perceived social eating norms were associated with the initiation and maintenance of dietary changes that took place as a result of lockdown. An online study collected information on (1) changes in consumption implemented during the lockdown and the maintenance of these changes, and (2) perceptions about changes in consumption implemented during lockdown by household members, relatives out of home, and the general population. The changes in consumption were classified as foods to increase or to decrease according to French national recommendations. The perception of changes to dietary habits by household members and relatives out of home was related to the changes made by individuals for each of the food categories (all p p = 0.03). These results highlight the influence of the perception of social eating norms, especially by household members and relatives, on the implementation of dietary changes during lockdown and suggest that social eating norms can have a lasting influence

Short-term or long-term effect of social norm on eating behavior? Contribution of an agent-based model

International audienceWe carried out several studies concerning the factors influencing the consumption of animal foodproducts. Three of their major results are mobilized in the present study. The first result wasobtained from a survey carried out in the VITAMIN project[1] on 1,715 French respondents, abouttheir food choices. It revealed that 40% of respondents’ current diet is not their ideal dietregarding animal product consumption, which they would like to reduce. The second result wasobtained from the analysis of 20 indepth biographical interviews carried out in the VITAMINproject. These showed that social pressure was a major factor for abandoning the adoption ofmeatless diets. The third result was obtained from an experimental protocol carried out by thePNCA lab. It tends to show that social norms, and especially the subjective social norm, arehindrances in the short term too and influence the food choices made during a meal. Hence, inthese studies, daily food choice in the short term is opposed to the “ideal" choice in the long termtowards a reduction in meat consumption. This is where social norms seem to be an importantsource of inertia.In the present work, we hypothesize that social acceptance of less meaty diets isunderestimated, that is to say, that the perception of the social norm is biased. We propose amodel, implemented in the GAMA agent-based simulation platform, in which two situations areconsidered. At home, individuals’ food consumptions are supposed to be conform to their desiredfood diets (this is a simplification, since factors such as cultural habits, appetite for meat, choice ofmeals by another member of the family, etc., can interfere). Outside the home, individuals’ foodconsumptions are supposed to be modulated by the perceived social norm - a global numericalvariable reflecting the population’s total meat consumption outside the home. During a simulation,some individuals start to consume outside the home according to their desired food diet. We studythe effect of this change on the whole population over time

Modulation of protein status in humans leads top preference for increased portions

Modulation of protein status in humans leads top preference for increased portions. Experimental Biology Meetin

Modulation des préférences alimentaires induites par le recouvrement d’une déficience en protéines chez l’homme

Journées Francophones de Nutrition JFN 2016, Montpellier, 2016/11/30 - 2016/12/02Modulation des préférences alimentaires induites par le recouvrement d’une déficience en protéines chez l’homm

Nutritional labeling modifies meal composition strategies in a computer-based food selection task

The aim of the study is to explore the eating behavior and consumption of consumers in university canteens in the presence of the Nutri-Score label. This study is carried out by the UMR INRAE - AgroParisTech laboratory of Physiology of Nutrition and Food Behavior in partnership with the CROUS of Versailles. This project received public funding exclusively

Nutritional labeling modifies meal composition strategies in a computer-based food selection task

International audienceNutritional information via simplified labelling on products’ front of pack has become common in retail stores and is now concerning collective catering. While numerous studies have investigated the effects of such information policies on consumers' decisions in shops, few studies have focused on choices made in collective catering. In such settings, consumers must compose a meal by combining dishes to be eaten during the same occasion. Each choice is then dependent of the selection of other foods, yielding a different decision problem as in a store where items are selected independently of one another. The aim of this study was to understand whether a nutritional labelling, (Nutri-Score®), modified the choices of consumers and more precisely modified the meal composition strategies - the associations between dishes made by consumers. A computerized menu composition task was designed, 371 participants were randomly redirected either to an interface displaying the Nutri-Score® of dishes, or to an interface showing the dishes without Nutri-Score®. Bayesian logistic regressions were used to explore dependency relationships between foods in presence or absence of Nutri-Score®. When considering dishes individually, no significant effects of the Nutri-Score® were observed, but significant effects of the Nutri-Score® on composition strategies could be observed. Two types of strategies seemed to emerge: homogeneous behaviors, where selected dishes had similar scores and, compensatory behaviors where selected dishes had contrasted scores. In conclusion, the effect of a nutritional labelling can have complex consequences on food decisions that extend beyond the selection of food items taken individually