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Abstract Objective: To assess the prospective association of two diet quality scores based on the Nova food classification with BMI gain. Design: The NutriNet-Brasil cohort is an ongoing web-based prospective study with continuous recruitment of participants aged ≥ 18 years since January 2020. A short 24-h dietary recall screener including ‘yes/no’ questions about the consumption of whole plant foods (WPF) and ultra-processed foods (UPF) was completed by participants at baseline. The Nova-WPF and the Nova-UPF scores were computed by adding up positive responses regarding the consumption of thirty-three varieties of WPF and twenty-three varieties of UPF, respectively. Participants reported their height at baseline and their weight at both baseline and after approximately 15 months of follow-up. A 15-month BMI (kg/m2) increase of ≥5 % was coded as BMI gain. Setting: Brazil. Participants: 9551 participants from the NutriNet-Brasil cohort. Results: Increasing quintiles of the Nova-UPF score were linearly associated with higher risk of BMI gain (relative risk Q5/Q1 = 1·34; 95 % CI 1·15, 1·56), whereas increasing quintiles of the Nova-WPF score were linearly associated with lower risk (relative risk Q5/Q1 = 0·80; 95 % CI 0·69, 0·94). We identified a moderate inverse correlation between the two scores (–0·33) and a partial mediating effect of the alternative score: 15 % for the total effect of the Nova-UPF score and 25 % for the total effect of the Nova-WPF score. Conclusions: The Nova-UPF and Nova-WPF scores are independently associated with mid-term BMI gain further justifying their use in diet quality monitoring systems.

Abstract Objective: This paper describes the first web-based self-completed 24-h recall designed to categorise food intake according to Nova groups – Nova24h – and its agreement with a reference tool in estimating the dietary relative contribution of the four Nova food groups (% of total energy intake). Design: Comparisons of estimates of dietary relative contributions of Nova groups obtained by Nova24h and one standard interviewer-led 24-h recall. Setting: Nationwide adult cohort study in Brazil. Participants: The subjects were 186 participants of the NutriNet Brasil Cohort Study (n 186). Results: No statistically significant differences were observed between the Nova24h and the reference tool mean contributions of unprocessed or minimally processed foods (52·3 % v. 52·6 %), processed culinary ingredients (11·6 % v. 11·9 %), processed foods (17·1 % v. 14·7 %) and ultra-processed foods (19·0 % v. 20·9 %). Intraclass correlation coefficients between individual estimates obtained for each Nova group showed moderate to good agreement (0·54–0·78). Substantial or almost perfect agreement between the tools was seen regarding the ability to rank participants according to quintiles of contribution of each Nova group (PABAK 0·69–0·81). Conclusions: Nova24h is a suitable tool for estimating the dietary relative energy contribution of Nova food groups in the NutriNet Brasil cohort. New studies are necessary to verify its adequacy in other populations.