We are starting to get to know the Nutri-score well. Officially adopted in France in 2017, this logo composed of 5 colors provides indications as to the nutritional qualities of foods: thus, a product stamped “A” (dark green) will be better for health than a product marked “E” (orange dark), the lowest score on the scale. If, at present, the presence of the Nutri-score on the packaging remains optional, 350 companies have undertaken to display it on their products, in particular those sold in supermarkets.
A recent study conducted by researchers from Inserm, Inrae, Cnam and Sorbonne Paris Nord University, in collaboration with researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO / IARC) have just shown that the lowest Nutri-score foods were associated with increased mortality.
High Nutri-score: attention, danger!
To reach this conclusion, the researchers studied medical data concerning 501,594 people in Europe, followed between 1992 and 2015. Verdict: participants who consumed on average more food with high Nutri-score “reflecting lower nutritional quality“had increased mortality – including more cancers and diseases of the circulatory, respiratory and digestive systems.
These results are hardly surprising: in fact, the foods lowest rated by the Nutri-score are also those which contain the most calories, saturated fat, sugar and salt, which favors the onset of chronic diseases (obesity, diabetes). , cancer, arterial hypertension …) dangerous in the long term. How about taking a look at the Nutri-score the next time we go to the supermarket?
This work was published this Thursday, September 17, 2020 in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
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