Chantal Julia

Université Sorbonne Paris Nord | Paris 13 Nord

Introduction Nutrient profiling systems are key tools in the development of nutrition-related policies. Their prospective associations with health outcomes are a crucial step in assessing their validity as public health measures. In 2023, the nutrient profiling system underlying the Nutri-Score -a nutrition front-of-pack label used in the European...

Background The prevalence of food insecurity (FI) is high and suggested to be growing among university students, with potential detrimental effects on their health status and academic performances. This cross-sectional study aims to identify the socioeconomic, demographic and lifestyle factors associated with FI among university students in a disad...

Background Nutri-Score is a scientifically validated 5-color front-of-pack nutrition label reflecting the nutrient profile of foods. It has been implemented in several European countries on a voluntary basis, pending the revision of the European labeling regulation. Hence, scientific evidence is needed regarding the ability of the nutrient profile...

Background Higher education students are an important target group for public health nutrition interventions. When designing tailored and contextually relevant interventions, participatory and co-creation approaches are increasingly recognized as promising but their use and effectiveness has not been assessed in this type of population. We systemat...

Although food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) include guidelines for meat consumption, their setting most often do not explicitly include environmental considerations. For instance, in France, FBDG recommend consuming no more than 500 g of red meat and 150 g of processed meat per week. This study uses modeling to investigate the range of greenhouse...

Background Some research shows that advertising for high-fat, sugar, or salt (HFSS) products is contributing to a shift in consumer preferences toward products of poor nutritional quality, leading to unhealthy nutritional intakes that increase the risk of obesity and chronic diseases. A strategy of displaying simple and understandable nutritional i...

Background Food reformulation is promoted as a tool to improve the nutritional quality of population diets. However, the potential impact of industry-wide reformulation on dietary intake has been investigated minimally. Objectives The aim was to estimate the impact on the French population nutrient intakes of industry-wide reformulation towards he...

In 2023, the algorithm underlying the Nutri-Score front-of-pack label was updated to better align with food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) across countries engaged in the system. On the basis of a comparison of FBDGs and literature reviews with the current Nutri-Score classification, modification scenarios were developed and tested in nutritional...

Background Emulsifiers are widely used food additives in industrially processed foods to improve texture and enhance shelf-life. Experimental research suggests deleterious effects of emulsifiers on the intestinal microbiota and the metabolome, leading to chronic inflammation and increasing susceptibility to carcinogenesis. However, human epidemiolo...

In the context of the European Commission’s proposal for the harmonization of front-of-pack nutrition labels (FoPLs) across the European Union scheduled for 2023, Portugal’s position on the preferred format to be adopted remains unclear. Our study aims to (1) describe the context of the political decision regarding FoPL’s implementation in Portugal...

Objective:To compare the initial and the updated versions of the front-pf-pack label Nutri-Score (related to the nutritional content) with the NOVA classification (related to the degree of food processing) at the food level. Design:Using the OpenFoodFacts database -129,950 food products-, we assessed the complementarity between the Nutri-Score (ini...

Dès le début de la pandémie de COVID-19, plusieurs études ont mis en évidence les disparités sociales et spatiales en matière de surmortalité toutes causes. Différents facteurs de risque étaient mis en avant. Dans cette étude, nous établissons, pour la région Île-de-France, des groupes homogènes d’intercommunalités (EPCI/EPT) selon les facteurs de...

Background Nutri‐score is now widely available in food packages in Europe. Aim To study the overall nutritional quality of the diet in relation to risks of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort Methods We collected dietary data at baseline from validated...

Daily eating/fasting cycles synchronise circadian peripheral clocks, involved in the regulation of the cardiovascular system. However, the associations of daily meal and fasting timing with cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence remain unclear. We used data from 103,389 adults in the NutriNet-Santé study. Meal timing and number of eating occasions...

Introduction To investigate the association between social deprivation and COVID-19 among hospitalized patients in an underprivileged department of the greater Paris area. Methods Individuals hospitalized for COVID-19 between March 1st and October 31, 2020, were included, matched on age and sex, and compared with patients hospitalized for any othe...

Lockdown imposed in the early phase of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak represented a specific setting where activity was restricted but still possible. The aim was to investigate the cross-sectional associations between physical activity (PA) and SARS-CoV-2 infection in a French population-based cohort. Participants completed a PA questionnaire. PA was cla...

Introduction When considering health-related impacts of foods, nutrient profile and processing are 2 complementary dimensions. Nutri-Score informs on the nutrient profile. Recently, mounting evidence linked ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption to various adverse health outcomes, independently of their nutrient profile. To inform consumers about e...

Front-of-package nutrition labels provide simplified information on the nutritional composition of foods. They are considered efficient tools to help consumers make heathier food choices at the point of purchase and may thus contribute at preventing nutrition-related diseases (overweight and obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer etc.). The Nutri-...

Background Diet has a direct impact on our health and as such is an important leverage in public health prevention strategies. Nutri-Score is a scientifically validated 5-color front-of-pack nutrition label based on a nutrient profile called FSAm-NPS that was proposed as a tool to help people choose healthier foods. It has been adopted by several E...

To help consumers to make healthier food choices, seven European countries have implemented the front-of-pack nutrition label Nutri-Score Six years after its implementation in France, the algorithm was updated in 2023 by the Nutri-Score European scientific committee, based on the current scientific knowledge. The present work aimed to study the com...

Objective: To study the relationships between artificial sweeteners, accounting for all dietary sources(total and by type of artificial sweetener) and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D), in a large-scale prospective cohort. Research design and methods: The analyses included 105,588 participants from the web-based NutriNet-Santé study (France, 2009-20...

Introduction Canada promulgated mandatory front-of-pack labelling (FOPL) regulations in 2022, requiring pre-packaged foods meeting and/or exceeding recommended thresholds for nutrients-of-concern (i.e., saturated fat, sodium, sugars) to display a “high-in” nutrition symbol. However, there is limited evidence on how Canadian FOPL (CAN-FOPL) regulati...

Introduction When considering health-related impacts of foods, nutrient profile and (ultra)processing are two complementary dimensions. The Nutri-Score informs on the nutrient profile dimension. Recently, mounting evidence linked ultraprocessed food consumption to various adverse health outcomes, independently of their nutrient profile. To inform c...

Background: Acrylamide is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the IARC but epidemiological evidence on the carcinogenicity of acrylamide from dietary sources is limited. This study aimed to investigate the associations between dietary acrylamide and breast cancer risk in the NutriNet-Santé cohort. Methods: This prospective cohort study inc...

Introduction: Explicit weight bias is an underlying cause of weight stigma, but its associations with individual characteristics are not well known. This study aimed to assess explicit weight bias in French adults and to explore the associations with weight status and sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: Adults from the NutriNet-Santé cros...

Objective The aim of this study was to assess the relative ability of different interpretive front-of-pack food labels to alert consumers to both healthier and unhealthier options to inform their food choices. Methods One thousand Australians completed an online experiment where they rated the nutritional quality of sets of fictional products pre-...

Background: Interpretive front-of-pack labels (FoPLs) are supported by World Health Organization as an important policy tool to promote healthy diets. At present, various FoPLs formats co-exist in the European Union (EU). However, as part of the Farm to Fork strategy published in 2020, the European Commission stated that it would propose a single...

Background Nitrites and nitrates occur naturally in water and soil and are commonly ingested from drinking water and dietary sources. They are also used as food additives, mainly in processed meats, to increase shelf life and to avoid bacterial growth. Experimental studies suggested both benefits and harmful effects of nitrites and nitrates exposur...

OBJECTIVE The deleterious effects of trans fatty acids (TFAs) on cardiovascular health are well established; however, their impact on type 2 diabetes remains poorly understood. In particular, little is known about the impact of specific TFA types on type 2 diabetes etiology. We aimed to explore the associations between different types of TFAs (tota...

Nutrition information is becoming more urgent than ever so that consumers can make informed choices when buying food. This study aimed to investigate consumers' perceptions and behavior of the front-of-pack label (FOPL), between two specific labeling systems, the Nutri-Score and the Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA). This is a post hoc analysis of data...

Our recognition of the environmental pressures associated with dietary patterns has grown considerably over the past decade. However, few studies have analysed the impacts associated with the consumption of ultra-processed food (UPF) and which steps in the food chain contribute the most. Here, using a representative sample of French adults (2,121 e...

Context and objective: When considering the health-related impact of foods, nutrient profile (content in salt, sugar, fibre, etc.) and (ultra-)processing are two complementary dimensions. The Nutri-Score, a summary graded front-of-pack label, already used in seven European countries, informs on the nutrient profile dimension, i.e. the one with the...

Background Interpretive Front-of-Pack Labels (FoPLs) are supported by WHO as a key policy tool to promote healthy diets. At present, various FoPLs formats co-exist in the European Union (EU). However, as part of the Farm to Fork strategy, the European Commission stated it would adopt a single mandatory FoPL in 2022. The aim of this study was to ana...

Background Artificial sweeteners are widely used today by the food industry as sugar alternatives. Potential adverse effects of these food additives on cardiovascular disease (CVD) have been suggested in experimental studies, but data from studies involving humans remain very limited. Previous cohorts have focused on artificially sweetened beverage...

Skipping breakfast and late-night-eating have been associated with risk factors for type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, less is known about the link between daily timing and frequency of food intake and risk of developing T2D. The objective of the present study is to investigate the associations between circadian nutritional behaviours, defined by meal...

Background Nutrition is a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) that can be leveraged by public health prevention strategies. In addition to dietary guidelines, front-of-pack nutrition labels (FoPNL) can help consumers make healthier food choices. Nutri-Score, a scientifically validated 5-color FopNL based on the nutrient p...

Front-of-pack nutrition labellings (FoPL) have gained traction in the European Union as tools to tackle the burden of nutrition-related chronic diseases. Multiple FoPL have been implemented by both governments and private actors. Under the European food labelling regulation, any FoPL is optional to display, although the legal framework is being rev...

Meal timings and daily night-time fasting periods can synchronise the circadian system, which regulates the cardiovascular system. The present study aims to evaluate the prospective associations between circadian nutritional behaviours, defined by meal timing and frequency, and the risk of cardiovascular diseases. We used data from 103,389 adults (...

Background: COVID-19 lockdowns represent natural experiments where limitations of movement impact on lifestyle behaviors. The aim of this paper was to assess how lockdowns have influenced physical activity and sedentary behaviors among French adults. Methods: 32,409 adults from the NutriNet-Santé study filled out questionnaires in April 2020 (th...

Background While research has shown that vegetarian diets have a low environmental impact, few studies have examined the environmental impacts and nutritional adequacy of these diets together, although vegetarian diets can lead to nutritional issues. Objectives Our objective is to optimize and compare six types of diets with varying degrees of pla...

It is important for nutrition interventions to be equitable to ensure they do not widen socioeconomic health-based inequalities. The role of front-of-pack nutrition labels is to provide accessible and easily understood information on product packages, and it is essential that such labels assist those who are least able to access and interpret other...

Objectives To study the associations between artificial sweeteners from all dietary sources (beverages, but also table top sweeteners, dairy products, etc), overall and by molecule (aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose), and risk of cardiovascular diseases (overall, coronary heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease). Design Population...

Background Acrylamide is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer but epidemiologic evidence on the carcinogenicity of acrylamide from dietary sources is limited. Objectives This study aimed to investigate the associations between dietary acrylamide and breast cancer risk in the NutriNet-Santé co...

Résumé Les études épidémiologiques d’observation à grande échelle fournissent des informations essentielles au développement des politiques de prévention des maladies chroniques comme l’obésité. Depuis 2009, 29 études sur l’obésité ont été publiées à partir des données de la cohorte française NutriNet-Santé. L’objectif de cet article est d’en prése...

Objective To our knowledge, the effect of front-of-pack nutrition labels such as the Nutri-Score on food purchases has never been assessed among individuals suffering from nutrition-related chronic diseases specifically, while dietary modifications are generally part of their care. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the Nutri-Score on th...

Background It has been suggested that risk behaviours including diet, physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour (SB), smoking and alcohol consumption cluster among adolescents. Our objective was to investigate clustering of risk behaviours in overweight and obese adolescents from the French PRALIMAP-InèS trial and to identify their socioeconomic...

In May 2020, the European Commission announced a proposal for a mandatory front-of-pack label (FoPL) for all European Union (EU) countries. Indeed, FoPLs have been recognized by several public institutions as a cost-effective measure to guide consumers toward nutritionally favorable food products. The aim of this study was to compare the performanc...

Introduction Periodontitis, as a chronic, multifactorial inflammatory disease, has complex relationships with other diseases and ultimately with well-being. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between self-report periodontitis, as measured with the recently developed and validated modified Periodontal Screening...

Objective To assess in 2021 the acceptance and perception of the French tax on sweetened beverages, following its revision in 2018, and factors associated with a higher level of acceptance. Design A cross-sectional survey within the NutriNet-Santé cohort study. Participants were invited to complete a self-reported questionnaire in March 2021. Weig...

Background Both the nutritional quality of the foods consumed (as nutrient composition) and their ultra-processed nature have been linked to health risks. However, the respective contribution of each of these correlated dimensions or their synergy to the overall diet quality has been rarely explored. Objective To identify the respective effects of...

To date, no studies have evaluated the appropriation of the front-of-pack Nutri-Score labeling among adolescents, although they are both consumers and buyers of food products. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were (1) to assess Nutri-Score awareness, perception and self-reported impact on food choices in French adolescents and (2) to...

Background: Long-chain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (n-3, n-6 FAs) may modulate inflammation and affect the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, whether n-3/n-6 FA status affects RA after disease onset is unknown. This study aimed to assess whether FA profiles are independently associated with disease activity in a large prosp...

Consumers increasingly demand information about the environmental impacts of their food. The French government is in the process of introducing environmental labelling for all food products. A scientific council was set up, and its main conclusions are presented in this article, through six questions: What environmental issues should be considered?...

Various front-of-pack food labels (FoPLs) are being introduced across the world, and discussion continues about the most effective label formats to improve consumers’ (i) understanding of the relative healthiness of alternative products and (ii) product choices. Of increasing interest is the relative ability of different types of labels to steer co...

Purpose Eating disorders (ED) and anxiety impact food choices. In addition, comorbid anxiety seems to increase ED symptoms and severity. However, the association between such comorbidity and dietary intake is unknown. This population-based, cross-sectional study aimed to assess macronutrient intake according to mental health status (i.e., no disord...

Background Scientific literature about environmental pressures associated with dietary patterns has been considerably growing over the last decade. However, few studies have analyzed the environmental impacts associated with the consumption of ultra-processed food (UPF) and which steps of the food system that contribute most to environmental pressu...

As scientists working and publishing in the field of front-of-pack nutrition labelling (FOPNL) for many years, we have read with interest and concern the narrative review regarding their effectiveness by Muzzioli et al. [...]

Background and aims Data regarding the association between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and eating disorders (ED) are scarce. Our aim was to investigate whether UPF intake was associated with different ED types in a large population-based study. Methods 43,993 participants (mean age = 51.0 years; 76.1% women) of the French NutriNet-Santé...

In 2016, the World Health Organization officially recommended sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxation as a strategy to reduce purchases, stimulate product reformulation and generate revenues for health-related programmes. Four years before, France had been one of the first countries to tax SSBs. However, the design of this tax was not considered op...

Background The food industry uses artificial sweeteners in a wide range of foods and beverages as alternatives to added sugars, for which deleterious effects on several chronic diseases are now well established. The safety of these food additives is debated, with conflicting findings regarding their role in the aetiology of various diseases. In par...

Background Nitrates and nitrites occur naturally in water and soil. They are also used as food additives (preservatives) in processed meats. They could play a role in the carcinogenicity of processed meat. The objective was to investigate the relationship between nitrate and nitrite intakes (natural food, water and food additive sources) and cancer...

Objective To investigate clustering of risk behaviours in adolescents with excess weight Design Cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the PRALIMAP- INÈS trial. Information on food frequency consumption (fruit, vegetables, sugary products and beverages), physical activity, sedentary behaviour (week and week-end days), smoking and alcohol c...

Background: Front-of-pack nutrition labels (FoPLs) aim at increasing transparency and consumers' awareness of the nutritional composition of pre-packed food products in order to improve the nutritional quality of their food choices. Nevertheless, the legitimacy of the Nutri-Score-the FoPL officially adopted in France and several other European coun...

Background: Added sugars’ deleterious effects have been established for several chronic diseases, leading food industries to use artificial sweeteners as alternatives in a wide range of foods and beverages. Their safety is debated and findings remain contrasted regarding their role in the etiology of various diseases. In particular, their carcinoge...

Background Dietary trans fatty acids (TFAs) are either natural (from ruminant sources) or generated through industrial processes by partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils. Extended evidence demonstrated their role as cardiovascular risk factors. In contrast, their involvement in cancer etiology is suspected, but epidemiological evidence remains li...

Background Nitrates and nitrites occur naturally in water and soil and are commonly ingested from drinking water and dietary sources. They are also used as food additives in processed meats to increase shelf life and to avoid bacterial growth. These compounds could have a role in the carcinogenicity of processed meat. Objective To investigate the r...