Study protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial to improve dietary diversity and physical fitness among older people who live at home (the “ALAPAGE study”)

Background : Diet and physical activity are key components of healthy aging. Current interventions that promote healthy eating and physical activity among the elderly have limitations and evidence of French interventions’ effectiveness is lacking. We aim to assess (i) the effectiveness of a combined diet/physical activity intervention (the “ALAPAGE” program) on older peoples’ eating behaviors, physical activity and fitness levels, quality of life, and feelings of loneliness; (ii) the intervention’s process and (iii) its cost effectiveness. Methods : We performed a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial with two parallel arms (2:1 ratio) among people ≥60 years old who live at home in southeastern France. A cluster consists of 10 people participating in a “workshop” (i.e., a collective intervention conducted at a local organization). We aim to include 45 workshops randomized into two groups: the intervention group (including 30 workshops) in the ALAPAGE program; and the waiting-list control group (including 15 workshops). Participants (expected total sample size: 450) will be recruited through both local organizations’ usual practices and an innovative active recruitment strategy that targets hard-to-reach people. We developed the ALAPAGE program based on existing workshops, combining a participatory and a theory-based approach. It includes a 7-week period with weekly collective sessions supported by a dietician and/or an adapted physical activity professional, followed by a 12-week period of post-session activities without professional supervision. Primary outcomes are dietary diversity (calculated using two 24-hour diet recalls and one Food Frequency Questionnaire) and lower-limb muscle strength (assessed by the 30-second chair stand test from the Senior Fitness Test battery). Secondary outcomes include consumption frequencies of main food groups and water/hot drinks, other physical fitness measures, overall level of physical activity, quality of life, and feelings of loneliness. Outcomes are assessed before the intervention, at 6 weeks and 3 months later. The process evaluation assesses the fidelity, dose, and reach of the intervention as its causal mechanisms (quantitative and qualitative data). Discussion : This study aims to improve healthy aging while limiting social inequalities. We developed and evaluated the ALAPAGE program in partnership with major healthy aging organizations, providing a unique opportunity to expand its reach

Development of a tailored nutrition counselling approach for individuals, taking into account several dimensions of diet sustainability

Promouvoir des choix alimentaires en accord avec les quatre dimensions de l’alimentation durable, à savoir la nutrition (en lien avec la santé), l’économie, le socio-culturel et l’environnement, est une priorité nationale et mondiale.L’objectif de cette thèse était de proposer une approche de prévention nutritionnelle sur-mesure, à destination des individus, prenant en compte différentes dimensions de l’alimentation durable. Pour cela, nous avons i) compilé des données hétérogènes issues de sources variées ; ii) proposé une méthode d’analyse multicritère ; iii) réalisé un outil permettant de générer des conseils en accord avec les préférences de chacun.Nous avons réalisé une revue de la littérature, qui souligne l’intérêt d’utiliser l’optimisation des consommations alimentaires pour identifier des régimes durables. Une méthodologie reproductible de compilation de données a été développée et appliquée à la construction d’une base de données unique, nommée « SUStable », intégrant les métriques associées à chaque dimension de la durabilité pour plus de 200 aliments couramment consommés en France.Sur la base de théories du changement de comportement, nous avons développé « Mon Alimentation Sur-Mesure », un prototype d’application web de conseils alimentaires sur-mesure. Un questionnaire de fréquence alimentaire de 94 items, intégré dans l’application, a été validé théoriquement afin d’estimer l’erreur de mesure induite par la structure du questionnaire (utilisation d’une liste finie d’items et de tailles de portions). Avec « Mon Alimentation Sur-Mesure », l’utilisateur peut connaitre la qualité de ses consommations alimentaires, le coût de son alimentation et son niveau d’activité physique. L’utilisateur est acteur de son changement : il précise ses préférences alimentaires ; il choisit, parmi trois modèles d’optimisation des consommations alimentaires, celui qui correspond le mieux à ses attentes ; il choisit les conseils qui lui semblent réalistes.Le prototype d’application développé est innovant dans la mesure où il considère l’alimentation dans sa globalité et rend l’utilisateur actif pour générer les conseils qui lui conviennent le mieux. Cette application pourrait être un futur outil de prévention en santé qui contribuerait à la reprise en main des individus sur leur alimentation.Promoting food choices in line with the four dimensions of diet sustainability, namely nutrition related to health, economy, socio-cultural and environment, is a national and global priority.The aim of this thesis was to develop a tailored nutrition counselling approach for individuals, taking into account several dimensions of diet sustainability. To achieve this, we have: i) compiled heterogeneous data from various sources; ii) proposed a method for multi-criteria assessment; iii) developed a tool to provide dietary advices which are in accordance with individual’s preferences.We have written a narrative review that demonstrates the added value of diet optimization to identify sustainable diets. A reproducible methodology was developed and applied to the creation of a unique food database, named SUStable, integrating metrics associated with each dimension of diet sustainability for more than 200 foods representative of the French food consumption.We developed a theory-based web application, named “Mon Alimentation Sur-Mesure”, which provides tailored dietary advices. A food frequency questionnaire of 94 items was validated theoretically in order to estimate the error due to the inherent structure of the questionnaire (use of a finite list of items and portion sizes). With “Mon Alimentation Sur-Mesure”, the user can obtain a picture of the nutritional quality of her/his diet, her/his diet cost and her/his level of physical activity. The user is actor in her/his own dietary changes: she/he specifies her/his food preferences; she/he selects, among three diet optimization models, the one that best suits her/his expectations; she/he chooses dietary advices that she/he considers achievable.The application prototype is innovative: it uses a whole-diet approach and allows the user to act to choose her/his advices. This prototype could be a future online health promotion tool which could help individuals to take in hand their diet

Drinking Water Intake Is Associated with Higher Diet Quality among French Adults

This study aimed to examine the association between drinking water intake and diet quality, and to analyse the adherence of French men and women to the European Food Safety Authority 2010 Adequate Intake (EFSA AI). A representative sample of French adults (≥18) from the Individual and National Survey on Food Consumption (INCA2) was classified, by sex, into small, medium, and large drinking water consumers. Diet quality was assessed with several nutritional indices (mean adequacy ratio (MAR), mean excess ratio (MER), probability of adequate intakes (PANDiet), and solid energy density (SED)). Of the total sample, 72% of men and 46% of women were below the EFSA AI. This percentage of non-adherence decreased from the small to the large drinking water consumers (from 95% to 34% in men and from 81% to 9% in women). For both sexes, drinking water intake was associated with higher diet quality (greater MAR and PANDiet). This association remained significant independently of socio-economic status for women only. Low drinking water consumers did not compensate with other sources (beverages and food moisture) and a high drinking water intake was not a guarantee for reaching the EFSA AI, meaning that increasing consumption of water should be encouraged in France

Structural Validation of a French Food Frequency Questionnaire of 94 Items

BackgroundFood frequency questionnaires (FFQs) are used to estimate the usual food and nutrient intakes over a period of time. Such estimates can suffer from measurement errors, either due to bias induced by respondent’s answers or to errors induced by the structure of the questionnaire (e.g., using a limited number of food items and an aggregated food database with average portion sizes). The “structural validation” presented in this study aims to isolate and quantify the impact of the inherent structure of a FFQ on the estimation of food and nutrient intakes, independently of respondent’s perception of the questionnaire.MethodsA semi-quantitative FFQ (n = 94 items, including 50 items with questions on portion sizes) and an associated aggregated food composition database (named the item-composition database) were developed, based on the self-reported weekly dietary records of 1918 adults (18–79 years-old) in the French Individual and National Dietary Survey 2 (INCA2), and the French CIQUAL 2013 food-composition database of all the foods (n = 1342 foods) declared as consumed in the population. Reference intakes of foods (“REF_FOOD”) and nutrients (“REF_NUT”) were calculated for each adult using the food-composition database and the amounts of foods self-reported in his/her dietary record. Then, answers to the FFQ were simulated for each adult based on his/her self-reported dietary record. “FFQ_FOOD” and “FFQ_NUT” intakes were estimated using the simulated answers and the item-composition database. Measurement errors (in %), spearman correlations and cross-classification were used to compare “REF_FOOD” with “FFQ_FOOD” and “REF_NUT” with “FFQ_NUT”.ResultsCompared to “REF_NUT,” “FFQ_NUT” total quantity and total energy intake were underestimated on average by 198 g/day and 666 kJ/day, respectively. “FFQ_FOOD” intakes were well estimated for starches, underestimated for most of the subgroups, and overestimated for some subgroups, in particular vegetables. Underestimation were mainly due to the use of portion sizes, leading to an underestimation of most of nutrients, except free sugars which were overestimated.ConclusionThe “structural validation” by simulating answers to a FFQ based on a reference dietary survey is innovative and pragmatic and allows quantifying the error induced by the simplification of the method of collection

Compatibility between dimensions of sustainable diets (nutritional adequacy, exposure to food contaminant and 30% reduction of greenhouse gas emission): an analysis based on individual diet modeling

International audienc

Application web de conseils alimentaires sur-mesure par optimisation des consommations alimentaires

International audienceContexte : Les approches de conseils sur-mesure sont, par définition, des approches dans lesquelles les messages sont adaptés, généralement via l’utilisation d’outils informatiques, au profil et aux besoins de chaque individu. Les interventions basées sur des conseils alimentaires construits selon une approche sur-mesure sont reconnues comme efficaces pour changer le comportement alimentaire des individus, mais ces changements sont généralement de faible ampleur. La majorité de ces interventions ciblent quelques groupes d’aliments ou nutriments, sans évaluer l’alimentation dans sa globalité. L’optimisation des consommations alimentaires, est une méthode mathématique puissante qui permet de traduire un ensemble de recommandations nutritionnelles en choix alimentaires plus sains. Cette méthode est de plus en plus utilisée en recherche en nutrition, dans les champs de la santé publique et de l’alimentation durable. Objectif : Ce travail vise à utiliser le potentiel des nouvelles technologies (c’est-à-dire, l’interactivité, la puissance de calcul, la facilité de personnalisation), pour combiner approche sur- mesure et optimisation des consommations alimentaires dans une application web de conseils alimentaires sur-mesure. Méthode et résultats : L’application web « Mon Alimentation Sur-Mesure » a été développée sur la base de théories du changement de comportement. Dans une première fonctionnalité, à partir des consommations alimentaires recueillies via un questionnaire de fréquence alimentaire en ligne et d’autres informations, « Mon Alimentation Sur-Mesure » informe l’utilisateur sur la qualité de ses consommations alimentaires, le coût de son alimentation et son niveau d’activité physique. Dans une seconde fonctionnalité, « Mon Alimentation Sur-Mesure » propose à l’utilisateur une liste de conseils alimentaires adaptés à ses besoins et préférences pour avoir une alimentation plus saine. Au sein de l’application, l’utilisateur est acteur de son changement : il peut préciser ses préférences alimentaires ; il peut choisir, parmi trois modèles d’optimisation des consommations alimentaires, celui qui correspond le mieux à ses attentes ; il peut choisir, parmi une liste de conseils alimentaires spécifiquement proposés par rapport à son profil, quelques conseils, comme étant ceux qui lui sembleraient les plus réalistes. Conclusion : Cette application pourrait être un futur outil pédagogique de prévention primaire et qui contribuerait à permettre aux individus de reprendre leur alimentation en main

Structural validation of a French Food Frequency Questionnaire of 94 items

International audienceBackground: Food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) are used to estimate the usual food and nutrient intakes over a period of time. Such estimates can suffer from measurement errors, either due to bias induced by respondent’s answers or to errors induced by the structure of the questionnaire (e.g., using a limited number of food items and an aggregated food database with average portion sizes). The “structural validation” presented in this study aims to isolate and quantify the impact of the inherent structure of a FFQ on the estimation of food and nutrient intakes, independently of respondent’s perception of the questionnaire. Methods: A semi-quantitative FFQ (n = 94 items, including 50 items with questions on portion sizes) and an associated aggregated food composition database (named the item-composition database) were developed, based on the self-reported weekly dietary records of 1918 adults (18–79 years-old) in the French Individual and National Dietary Survey 2 (INCA2), and the French CIQUAL 2013 food-composition database of all the foods (n = 1342 foods) declared as consumed in the population. Reference intakes of foods (“REF_FOOD”) and nutrients (“REF_NUT”) were calculated for each adult using the food-composition database and the amounts of foods self-reported in his/her dietary record. Then, answers to the FFQ were simulated for each adult based on his/her self-reported dietary record. “FFQ_FOOD” and “FFQ_NUT” intakes were estimated using the simulated answers and the item-composition database. Measurement errors (in %), spearman correlations and cross-classification were used to compare “REF_FOOD” with “FFQ_FOOD” and “REF_NUT” with “FFQ_NUT”. Results: Compared to “REF_NUT,” “FFQ_NUT” total quantity and total energy intake were underestimated on average by 198 g/day and 666 kJ/day, respectively. “FFQ_FOOD” intakes were well estimated for starches, underestimated for most of the subgroups, and overestimated for some subgroups, in particular vegetables. Underestimation were mainly due to the use of portion sizes, leading to an underestimation of most of nutrients, except free sugars which were overestimated. Conclusion: The “structural validation” by simulating answers to a FFQ based on a reference dietary survey is innovative and pragmatic and allows quantifying the error induced by the simplification of the method of collection

MS-Diet, a tailored nutrition counselling web-application based on mathematical diet optimization

Background:By definition, messages in tailored approaches are built to reach a given person, based on her/his specific characteristics and needs. Tailored dietary behavior change interventions have a small but significant effect on dietary behavior change. The majority of these interventions target a few food groups or nutrients, without evaluating the overall diet. Diet optimization is a powerful mathematical method to translate nutrient recommendations into individual-specific food choices. This method is increasingly used in nutrition research, in the fields of public health and diet sustainability. Objective: The aim was to combine tailored approaches and diet optimization in a web application of tailored nutrition counselling.Method and results:The web application, called MS-Diet, was developed based on behavior changes techniques, such as: self-monitoring, self-regulatory, tailored feedback and engaging communication techniques. In a first feature, based on user’s data collected online (including answers to a food frequency questionnaire), the user can obtain a picture of the nutritional quality of her/his diet, the diet cost and the level of physical activity. In a second feature, MS-Diet suggests to the user a list of tailored dietary advices to get a healthier diet (i.e., a nutritionally adequate diet), adapted to her/his specific needs and food preferences. With the application, the user is actor in her/his own dietary changes: she/he specifies her/his food preferences and; chooses dietary suggestions that she/he considers achievable.Conclusions:This prototype could be a future online health promotion tool which could help individuals to improve their diet or serve as a decision-support tool for health professionals. The evaluation of the tool (e.g. whether the use of the tool results in changes of dietary habits) is warranted before use on health promotion

Un référentiel actualisé de l’aide alimentaire pour concevoir des dons équilibrés

En intégrant l’ensemble des dernières recommandations d’apports en nutriments de l’Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail (ANSES), ainsi que les recommandations de consommation alimentaire du PNNS 4, ce travail met à jour le « référentiel de l’aide alimentaire », c’est-à-dire la répartition idéale des catégories d’aliments dans les dons.Cette répartition a été obtenue par programmation linéaire à partir des données de consommation alimentaire des adultes de l’étude INCA 3.Le référentiel fournit aux associations les moyens d’évaluer l’équilibre nutritionnel de leurs stocks et de leurs dons et facilite l’identification de voies d’amélioration. Un outil permettant de traduire le référentiel en dons alimentaires a également été développé et des exemples de paniers ainsi générés sont présentés