Heart attack, stroke… Regularly buying products with a poor Nutri-Score rating increases the development of cardiovascular diseases.
- People who consume on average more foods that score lower on the Nutri-Score scale have an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction and stroke.
- “These results, combined with all the available data concerning the Nutri-Score and the algorithm that underlies it, confirm the relevance of the Nutri-Score as a public health tool to guide consumers in their food choices with a view to preventing chronic diseases,” emphasizes Mélanie Deschasaux-Tanguy, research officer at Inserm.
- Officially adopted in France in 2017, the Nutri-Score includes 5 categories for rating foodstuffs sold by mass retailers: from A-dark green (higher nutritional quality) to E-dark orange (lower nutritional quality).
“Consumption of foods with lower Nutri-Score rankings is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease”This is the unequivocal conclusion of new French research to be published on September 11 in the Lancet Regional Health-Europe.
Nutri-Score and cardiovascular diseases: 7 European countries included in the study
In this study carried out on a large population spread across 7 European countries, the researchers were interested in the link between the new version of the algorithm underlying the Nutri-Score and the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
A total of 345,533 participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort were included in the analyses. During a 12-year follow-up, 16,214 cohort members developed cardiovascular disease (including 6,565 myocardial infarctions and 6,245 strokes).
After combining all the data, the scientists found that individuals who consumed, on average, more foods that scored lower on the Nutri-Score scale had an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes. These associations were still significant after controlling for a large number of sociodemographic factors and lifestyle characteristics.
The Nutri-Score relevant “as a public health tool”
“These results, combined with all the available data concerning the Nutri-Score and the algorithm that underlies it, confirm the relevance of the Nutri-Score as a public health tool to guide consumers in their food choices with a view to preventing chronic diseases.”underlines Mélanie Deschasaux-Tanguy, research officer at Inserm.
“Finally, these results provide key elements to support the adoption of Nutri-Score as a mandatory nutritional logo in Europe,” concludes Mathilde Touvier, research director at Inserm.
How does the Nutri-Score work?
Officially adopted in France in 2017, the Nutri-Score includes 5 categories to rate foodstuffs sold by mass retailers: from A-dark green (higher nutritional quality) to E-dark orange (lower nutritional quality). A category is assigned to a food or drink based on an algorithm calculated from its composition per 100 grams in energy, sugars, saturated fatty acids, salt, proteins, fruits, vegetables and legumes.
Changes to the calculation of the Nutri-Score have recently been proposed by the international scientific committee responsible for its monitoring to improve its consistency with nutritional recommendations. This new version should come into force in 2024, with a gradual deployment over several months.
Today, the application of Nutri-Score on packaging remains optional and therefore relies solely on the wishes of the food industry.
