[Connection between the knowledge of the recommendations of the National Nutrition and Health Program and patterns of eating behaviour and physical activity]. / Associations entre la connaissance des recommandations du Programme National Nutrition Santé et les comportements en matière d'alimentation et d'activité physique.

BACKGROUND: Nutrition education is one of the main lines of the French nutrition policy that has been undertaken for several years. The underlying hypothesis of this approach is that knowledge improvement is one of the ways likely to contribute to health-enhancing diet and physical activity. The objective of this paper, based on the 2008 Health and nutrition Barometer, is to examine the associations observed between knowledge and behavior with regard to diet and physical activity. METHODS: The 2008 Health and nutrition Barometer is a nationally representative telephone survey conducted on 4714 individuals aged 12-75 years. For six recommendations of the National Nutrition and Health Program (Programme national nutrition santé [PNNS]), multiple logistic models were used to identify associations between knowledge of these recommendations and behavior, among adults aged 18-75 years. For food consumed on the day before the interview, odds ratios were adjusted for sex, age, education level, agglomeration size and region. As bivariate analysis showed that income level was significant for recommended consumption of fish, this variable was introduced among adjustment variables. Similarly, the variable occupation was introduced for physical activity. RESULTS: A positive association between knowledge of recommendations and nutritional behavior on the day before interview was observed for fruit and vegetables (OR=1.7), dairy products (OR=1.6), and starchy food (OR=1.6). The same was observed for consumption of fish during the 15 days before the interview (OR=5.0) and for physical activity during a usual week (OR=1.5) but not for the "meat, seafood and eggs" food group. CONCLUSION: Eating habits and physical activity are positively associated with knowledge of nutritional recommendations, mainly acquired via nutritional information and educational actions. Nevertheless, the important differences observed for certain dietary groups between knowledge of recommendations and dietary intake emphasizes the need to further support individual-focused initiatives with health-enhancing environmental strategies.

[Comparison of two national food surveys (INCA 1 1998-99 and Health Nutrition Barometer 2002) with regard to five food recommendations of the National Nutrition and Health Program]. / Comparaison de deux enquêtes nationales de consommations alimentaires (INCA 1 1998/99 et Baromètre santé nutrition 2002) au regard de cinq objectifs alimentaires du Programme national nutrition santé.

BACKGROUND: Monitoring the dietary intake of the French population requires the implementation and regular renewal of representative national survey. As these surveys can use different methodologies (food frequency questionnaire, 24 hour recall, 3 or 7-day dietary record...), it seems useful to check whether they supply similar results. The aim of this study is to determine whether two representative national surveys with different methodologies can be used alternately to monitor changes in food consumption of the French population. METHOD: Percentages of consumers aged 15-75 were compared between two national food surveys (Health Nutrition Barometer 2002 and INCA 1 1998-99) with respect to five food frequency recommendations of the French National Nutrition and Health Program. RESULTS: The same public health priorities were found in both surveys: the food groups were graded according to the same hierarchy of adequate food intake prevalences (ascending: fruits and vegetables, dairy products, fish, starchy foods and meat-fish-egg products). On the other hand, significant statistical different elements were pointed out in a few food groups which may be explained by methodological patterns. Definitions of portions and food groups, survey duration and seasons are indeed important parameters to be considered when comparing surveys. CONCLUSION: The results show the need to elaborate standardized methods for comparison of food consumption surveys, which can be useful for the evaluation of the national nutritional recommendations. The methodological limitations described in this study also indicate that the quantitative description of food intake trends should improve when established by the results of the same regularly repeated survey.