Characterization of the degree of food processing in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition: Application of the Nova classification and validation using selected biomarkers of food processing - Cnam - Conservatoire national des arts et métiers Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Frontiers in Nutrition Année : 2022

Characterization of the degree of food processing in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition: Application of the Nova classification and validation using selected biomarkers of food processing

1 CIRC - IARC - Centre International de Recherche contre le Cancer - International Agency for Research on Cancer
2 USP - Universidade de São Paulo = University of São Paulo
3 EREN [CRESS - U1153 / UMR_A 1125] - Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team | Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle
4 Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS
5 Universität Bremen
6 URL - Universitat Ramon Llull [Barcelona]
7 UiT - The Arctic University of Norway [Tromsø, Norway]
8 DKFZ - German Cancer Research Center - Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum [Heidelberg]
9 RIVM - National Institute for Public Health and the Environment [Bilthoven]
10 Skane University Hospital [Lund]
11 Aarhus University [Aarhus]
12 UNITO - Università degli studi di Torino = University of Turin
13 IdiSNA - Navarra Institute for Health Research / Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra
14 CIBERESP - Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública = Consortium for Biomedical Research of Epidemiology and Public Health
15 Imperial College London
16 ITU - IT University of Copenhagen
17 Steno Diabetes Center
18 Nuffield Department of Population Health [Oxford]
19 Danish Cancer Society
20 ISPRO - Istituto per lo studio, la prevenzione e la rete oncologica = Institute for Cancer Research, Prevention and Clinical Network
21 UGR - Universidad de Granada = University of Granada
22 Murcia Regional Health Council, IMIB-Arrixaca
23 DIfE - German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke
24 Università degli studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" = University of the Study of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli
25 Hyblean Association for Epidemiological Research
26 Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care
27 Umeå University
Anna Winkvist
  • Fonction : Auteur

Résumé

Background Epidemiological studies have demonstrated an association between the degree of food processing in our diet and the risk of various chronic diseases. Much of this evidence is based on the international Nova classification system, which classifies food into four groups based on the type of processing: (1) Unprocessed and minimally processed foods, (2) Processed culinary ingredients, (3) Processed foods, and (4) “Ultra-processed” foods (UPF). The ability of the Nova classification to accurately characterise the degree of food processing across consumption patterns in various European populations has not been investigated so far. Therefore, we applied the Nova coding to data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) in order to characterize the degree of food processing in our diet across European populations with diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds and to validate this Nova classification through comparison with objective biomarker measurements. Methods After grouping foods in the EPIC dataset according to the Nova classification, a total of 476,768 participants in the EPIC cohort (71.5% women; mean age 51 [standard deviation (SD) 9.93]; median age 52 [percentile (p)25–p75: 58–66] years) were included in the cross-sectional analysis that characterised consumption patterns based on the Nova classification. The consumption of food products classified as different Nova categories were compared to relevant circulating biomarkers denoting food processing, measured in various subsamples (N between 417 and 9,460) within the EPIC cohort via (partial) correlation analyses (unadjusted and adjusted by sex, age, BMI and country). These biomarkers included an industrial transfatty acid (ITFA) isomer (elaidic acid; exogenous fatty acid generated during oil hydrogenation and heating) and urinary 4 - methyl syringol sulfate (an indicator for the consumption of smoked food and a component of liquid smoke used in UPF). Results Contributions of UPF intake to the overall diet in % grams/day varied across countries from 7% (France) to 23% (Norway) and their contributions to overall % energy intake from 16% (Spain and Italy) to >45% (in the UK and Norway). Differences were also found between sociodemographic groups; participants in the highest fourth of UPF consumption tended to be younger, taller, less educated, current smokers, more physically active, have a higher reported intake of energy and lower reported intake of alcohol. The UPF pattern as defined based on the Nova classification (group 4;% kcal/day) was positively associated with blood levels of industrial elaidic acid ( r = 0.54) and 4 - methyl syringol sulfate ( r = 0.43). Associations for the other 3 Nova groups with these food processing biomarkers were either inverse or non-significant (e.g., for unprocessed and minimally processed foods these correlations were –0.07 and –0.37 for elaidic acid and 4 - methyl syringol sulfate, respectively). Conclusion These results, based on a large pan-European cohort, demonstrate sociodemographic and geographical differences in the consumption of UPF. Furthermore, these results suggest that the Nova classification can accurately capture consumption of UPF, reflected by stronger correlations with circulating levels of industrial elaidic acid and a syringol metabolite compared to diets high in minimally processed foods.
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hal-04079396 , version 1 (24-04-2023)

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Inge Huybrechts, Fernanda Rauber, Geneviève Nicolas, Corinne Casagrande, Nathalie Kliemann, et al.. Characterization of the degree of food processing in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition: Application of the Nova classification and validation using selected biomarkers of food processing. Frontiers in Nutrition, 2022, 9, pp.1-17. ⟨10.3389/fnut.2022.1035580⟩. ⟨hal-04079396⟩
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