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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: As taste preferences may be associated with obesity, the present study investigated whether obese subjects presented heightened liking for the sensations of sweet, salt and fat. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Liking scores were determined by a questionnaire including 83 items on liking for sweet or fatty foods, and the preferred extent of seasoning with salt, sweet or fat. Data from 46 909 adults included in the French web-based observational cohort of the Nutrinet-Sante study were collected and weighted according to the national population census. Relationships between liking scores and body mass index (BMI) as categorical or linear explanatory variable were assessed separately by gender using covariance and linear regression analyses, adjusted for age, education level, living area, smoking and alcohol. RESULTS: Overall liking scores for salt and fat were linearly positively linked to BMI in men and women (P [less than or equal to] 0.001) and were higher in obese than in normal-weight individuals. The score difference between BMI categories was greater in women for fat liking only. For sweet liking, results differed between gender and compounding factors. Liking for added sugar and sweet foods was positively linked to BMI in women unlike in men; liking for natural sweetness was negatively linked to BMI in both genders. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the relationship between liking and BMI differs according to the gender in its magnitude for fat and in its nature for sweet, unlike that for salt. Liking for sweet and fat may be linked to overconsumption of the corresponding foods, especially in women. This warrants further investigation. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2015) 69, 40-46;doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2014.139;published online 30 July 2014, INTRODUCTION Chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases have become a worldwide burden, especially in developed and rapidly urbanized areas. (1) Among complex multifactorial causes, overconsumption of salty, sweet [...]

Background/Objectives: Lower-income subgroups consume fewer servings of fruit and vegetables (FVs) compared with their more advantaged counterparts. To overcome financial barriers, FV voucher delivery has been proposed. Subjects/Methods: In a 12-month trial, 302 low-income adults 18-60 years old (defined by evaluation of deprivation and inequalities in health examination centers, a specific deprivation score) were randomized into two groups: dietary advice alone ('advice'), or dietary advice plus FV vouchers ('FV vouchers') (10-40 euros/month) exchangeable for fresh fruits and vegetables. Self-reported data were collected on FV consumption and socioeconomic status at baseline, 3, 9 and 12 months. Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements were conducted at these periods, as well as blood samples obtained for determination of vitamins. Descriptive analyses, multiple linear regression and logistic regression were performed to evaluate the impact of FV. Results: Between baseline and 3-month follow-up, mean FV consumption increased significantly in both the 'advice' (0.62 [+ or-] 1.29 times/day, P = 0.0004) and 'FV vouchers' groups (0.74 [+ or-] 1.90, P = 0.002), with no difference between groups. Subjects in the FV vouchers group had significantly decreased risk of low FV consumption ( Conclusion: In the low-income population, FV voucher delivery decreased the proportion of low FV consumers at 3 months. Longer-term studies are needed to assess their impact on nutritional status. European journal of Clinical Nutrition (2012) 66, 369-375; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2011.173; published online 12 October 2011 Keywords: fruit and vegetables; fruit and vegetable vouchers; low income, Introduction A diet poor in fruit and vegetables (FVs) is associated with an increased risk of certain cancers and heart disease and stroke (Hung et al., 2004; Dauchet et al., [...]

Background/Objectives: Few studies in Europe have examined the relationship of sociodemographic and economic factors with diet in deprived populations. We analysed the association between socioeconomic characteristics and consumption of different food groups in food aid users. Subjects/Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among food aid users in four urban French zones (n = 1664). Associations of sociodemographic and economic factors and food aid use with frequency of consumption of the main food groups were tested using multivariate logistic regression models accounting for sampling weights. Results: Both migrant status and consumption of fewer than three daily meals were associated with risk of low frequency of starchy food consumption (< 3 times per day). Migrant status was also associated with low frequency of consumption of fruits and vegetables (< 3.5 times per day) and dairy products ( Conclusions: Economic level and other social characteristics were associated with an unhealthy diet within this deprived French population. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2010) 64, 374-382; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2009.153; published online 20 January 2010 Keywords: food aid; food supply; dietary behaviour; socioeconomic discrepancies; deprived population, Introduction Diet is influenced by sociodemographic, economic and cultural factors. It is well documented that low socioeconomic status, a poor education level and unemployment are associated with an unhealthier diet [...]

Abstract Background Nutrition-related chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer are of multiple origin, and may be due to genetic, biologic, behavioural and environmental factors. In order to detangle the specific role of nutritional factors, very large population sample cohort studies comprising precisely measured dietary intake and all necessary information for accurately assessing potential confounding factors are needed. Widespread use of internet is an opportunity to gradually collect huge amounts of data from a large sample of volunteers that can be automatically verified and processed. The objectives of the NutriNet-Santé study are: 1) to investigate the relationship between nutrition (nutrients, foods, dietary patterns, physical activity), mortality and health outcomes; and 2) to examine the determinants of dietary patterns and nutritional status (sociological, economic, cultural, biological, cognitive, perceptions, preferences, etc.), using a web-based approach. Methods/design Our web-based prospective cohort study is being conducted for a scheduled follow-up of 10 years. Using a dedicated web site, recruitment will be carried out for 5 years so as to register 500 000 volunteers aged ≥ 18 years among whom 60% are expected to be included (having complete baseline data) and followed-up for at least 5 years for 240 000 participants. Questionnaires administered via internet at baseline and each year thereafter will assess socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics, anthropometry, health status, physical activity and diet. Surveillance of health events will be implemented via questionnaires on hospitalisation and use of medication, and linkage with a national database on vital statistics. Biochemical samples and clinical examination will be collected in a subsample of volunteers. Discussion Self-administered data collection using internet as a complement to collection of biological data will enable identifying nutrition-related risks and protective factors, thereby more clearly elucidating determinants of nutritional status and their interactions. These are necessary steps for further refining nutritional recommendations aimed at improving the health status of populations.

Abstract Background Migrant studies in France revealed that Mediterranean migrant men have lower mortality and morbidity than local-born populations for non-communicable diseases (NCDs). We studied overweight and NCDs among Tunisian migrants compared to the population of the host country and to the population of their country of origin. We also studied the potential influence of socio-economic and lifestyle factors on differential health status. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted to compare Tunisian migrant men with two non-migrant male groups: local-born French and Tunisians living in Tunisia, using frequency matching. We performed quota sampling (n = 147) based on age and place of residence. We used embedded logistic regression models to test socio-economic and lifestyle factors as potential mediators for the effect of migration on overweight, hypertension and reported morbidity (hypercholesterolemia, type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (CVD)). Results Migrants were less overweight than French (OR = 0.53 [0.33–0.84]) and had less diabetes and CVD than Tunisians (0.18 [0.06–0.54] and 0.25 [0.07–0.88]). Prevalence of hypertension (grade-1 and -2) and prevalence of hypercholesterolemia were significantly lower among migrants than among French (respectively 0.06 [0.03–0.14]; 0.04 [0.01–0.15]; 0.11 [0.04–0.34]) and Tunisians (respectively OR = 0.07 [0.03–0.18]; OR = 0.06 [0.02–0.20]; OR = 0.23 [0.08–0.63]). The effect of migration on overweight was mediated by alcohol consumption. Healthcare utilisation, smoking and physical activity were mediators for the effect of migration on diabetes. The effect of migration on CVD was mediated by healthcare utilisation and energy intake. No obvious mediating effect was found for hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. Conclusion Our study clearly shows that lifestyle (smoking) and cultural background (alcohol) are involved in the observed protective effect of migration.

Background: Despite an increasing number of studies highlighting the health benefits of community gardening, the literature is limited by cross-sectional designs. The "JArDinS" quasi-experimental study aimed to assess the impact of community garden participation on the adoption of more sustainable lifestyles among French adults., Methods: Individuals entering a community garden in Montpellier (France) in 2018 (n = 66) were compared with pairwise matched individuals with no experience in community gardening (n = 66). Nutritional quality, environmental impact and cost of monthly household food supplies, level of physical activity measured by accelerometers, as well as mental and social well-being, sensitivity to food waste, and connection with nature were evaluated at baseline (t0) and 12 months later (t1) to explore sustainability of lifestyles in social/health, environmental and economic dimensions. Linear mixed models were used to determine the independent effect of community gardening on investigated lifestyles components. In-depth interviews were conducted at t1 with 15 gardeners to better understand changes that may have occurred in gardeners' lives during the first year of gardening., Results: At t0, gardeners had lower education level, lower BMI and their household reported lower percentage of meals consumed outside of the home compared to non-gardeners (p <  0.05). Participating in the community garden had no significant impact, in spite of sufficient statistical power, on fruit and vegetables supplies (main outcome), nor on physical activity parameters, nor on others of the social/health, environmental and economic lifestyles components investigated. Qualitative interviews suggested the existence of pre-established health and environmental consciousness in some gardeners and revealed several barriers to the participation such as lack of time, lack of gardening knowledge, physical difficulty of gardening, health problems and conflicts with other gardeners., Conclusions: The health benefits of community gardening previously reported by cross-sectional studies might be confounded by selection bias. The JArDinS study highlights the need to identify solutions to overcome barriers related to community garden participation when designing relevant public health interventions for the promotion of sustainable lifestyles., Trial Registration: The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03694782 . Date of registration: 3rd October 2018, retrospectively registered.

We reported the first pediatric case of auto-immune hepatitis with positive anti-P antibodies. On the basis of our findings, adding auto anti-P screening in pediatric seronegative HAI may be recommended., Competing Interests: None declared., (© 2019 The Authors. Clinical Case Reports published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Despite growing evidence for the multiple health benefits of community gardening, longitudinal studies based on quantitative data are needed. Here we describe the protocol of JArDinS, a quasi-experimental study, aimed at assessing the impact of community garden participation (a natural experiment) in the adoption of more sustainable lifestyles., Methods: Gardeners (n = 80) starting gardening in a community garden in Montpellier (France) will be recruited. Volunteers with no experience in community gardening and matched for age range, gender, household income and household composition will be recruited in a control group (n = 80). The sustainability of lifestyles in its social/health, environmental and economic dimensions will be assessed from a food supply diary (recording type, quantity and price of foods acquired in a 1-month period and the carbon impact of relevant food trips), a triaxial accelerometer (measuring physical activity) and online questionnaires on mental and social health, sensitivity to food waste, and connection with nature. Change of outcomes after 1 year will be compared between the natural experiment and the control groups., Discussion: This study will provide information on the impact of participation in a community garden on the different dimensions of sustainability, based on a robust quasi-experimental design allowing causality evaluation., Trial Registration: The JArDinS study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03694782 . Date of registration: 3rd October 2018, retrospectively registered.

Background: Some ethnic minority populations have a higher risk of non-communicable diseases than the majority European population. Diet and physical activity behaviours contribute to this risk, shaped by a system of inter-related factors. This study mapped a systems-based framework of the factors influencing dietary and physical activity behaviours in ethnic minority populations living in Europe, to inform research prioritisation and intervention development., Methods: A concept mapping approach guided by systems thinking was used: i. Preparation (protocol and terminology); ii. Generating a list of factors influencing dietary and physical activity behaviours in ethnic minority populations living in Europe from evidence (systematic mapping reviews) and 'eminence' (89 participants from 24 academic disciplines via brainstorming, an international symposium and expert review) and; iii. Seeking consensus on structuring, rating and clustering factors, based on how they relate to each other; and iv. Interpreting/utilising the framework for research and interventions. Similar steps were undertaken for frameworks developed for the majority European population., Results: Seven distinct clusters emerged for dietary behaviour (containing 85 factors) and 8 for physical activity behaviours (containing 183 factors). Four clusters were similar across behaviours: Social and cultural environment; Social and material resources; Psychosocial; and Migration context. Similar clusters of factors emerged in the frameworks for diet and physical activity behaviours of the majority European population, except for 'migration context'. The importance of factors across all clusters was acknowledged, but their relative importance differed for ethnic minority populations compared with the majority population., Conclusions: This systems-based framework integrates evidence from both expert opinion and published literature, to map the factors influencing dietary and physical activity behaviours in ethnic minority groups. Our findings illustrate that innovative research and complex interventions need to be developed that are sensitive to the needs of ethnic minority populations. A systems approach that encompasses the complexity of the inter-related factors that drive behaviours may inform a more holistic public health paradigm to more effectively reach ethnic minorities living in Europe, as well as the majority host population.

Background: Nutrition-related chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer are of multiple origin, and may be due to genetic, biologic, behavioural and environmental factors. In order to detangle the specific role of nutritional factors, very large population sample cohort studies comprising precisely measured dietary intake and all necessary information for accurately assessing potential confounding factors are needed. Widespread use of internet is an opportunity to gradually collect huge amounts of data from a large sample of volunteers that can be automatically verified and processed. The objectives of the NutriNet-Santé study are: 1) to investigate the relationship between nutrition (nutrients, foods, dietary patterns, physical activity), mortality and health outcomes; and 2) to examine the determinants of dietary patterns and nutritional status (sociological, economic, cultural, biological, cognitive, perceptions, preferences, etc.), using a web-based approach., Methods/design: Our web-based prospective cohort study is being conducted for a scheduled follow-up of 10 years. Using a dedicated web site, recruitment will be carried out for 5 years so as to register 500 000 volunteers aged >/= 18 years among whom 60% are expected to be included (having complete baseline data) and followed-up for at least 5 years for 240 000 participants. Questionnaires administered via internet at baseline and each year thereafter will assess socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics, anthropometry, health status, physical activity and diet. Surveillance of health events will be implemented via questionnaires on hospitalisation and use of medication, and linkage with a national database on vital statistics. Biochemical samples and clinical examination will be collected in a subsample of volunteers., Discussion: Self-administered data collection using internet as a complement to collection of biological data will enable identifying nutrition-related risks and protective factors, thereby more clearly elucidating determinants of nutritional status and their interactions. These are necessary steps for further refining nutritional recommendations aimed at improving the health status of populations.

Determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption, including affordability and attitudes, have been poorly investigated, especially in European deprived populations. Our objective was to analyze various determinants of low consumption of fruits and vegetables in disadvantaged participants. Our participants were randomized into 2 groups, 1 which received nutritional advice alone and 1 that also received vouchers that were exchangeable for fruits and vegetables during a 12-mo period. Socioeconomic characteristics, food insufficiency, affordability, and motivation for eating fruits and vegetables were assessed. A short FFQ was administered. Determinants of consumption of <1 fruit or vegetable/d were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. A total of 295 participants were included (mean age 44.8 y; 133 men, 162 women). At baseline, mean daily consumption of fruits and vegetables was 2.13 +/- 1.57 times/d. Nearly 30% of the sample did not eat fruits and vegetables every day. Determinants of low fruit and vegetable consumption were: age younger than 55 y, education level lower than tertiary, and absence of financial means for buying fruits and vegetables daily. Other determinants were affordability (whether fruits and vegetables are affordable, lack of money in preventing healthy diet) and attitudes (whether one's own diet is healthy, whether or not fruits and vegetables improve health, whether eating fruits and vegetables is a pleasure). Thus, determinants of inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables in this deprived French population are numerous. The impact of financial difficulties is crucial, as is the perception of affordability of fruits and vegetables.

In mammals, male sex determination starts when the Y chromosome Sry gene is expressed within the undetermined male gonad. One of the earliest effect of Sry expression is to induce up-regulation of Sox9 gene expression in the developing gonad. SOX9, like SRY, contains a high mobility group domain and is sufficient to induce testis differentiation in transgenic XX mice. Before sexual differentiation, SOX9 protein is initially found in the cytoplasm of undifferentiated gonads from both sexes. At the time of testis differentiation and anti-Müllerian hormone expression, it becomes localized to the nuclear compartment in males whereas it is down-regulated in females. In this report, we used NIH 3T3 cells as a model to examine the regulation of SOX9 nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling. SOX9-transfected cells expressed nuclear and cytoplasmic SOX9 whereas transfected cells treated with the nuclear export inhibitor leptomycin B, displayed an exclusive nuclear localization of SOX9. By using SOX9 deletion constructs in green fluorescent protein fusion proteins, we identified a functional nuclear export signal sequence between amino acids 134 and 147 of SOX9 high mobility group box. More strikingly, we show that inhibiting nuclear export with leptomycin B in mouse XX gonads cultured in vitro induced a sex reversal phenotype characterized by nuclear SOX9 and anti-Müllerian hormone expression. These results indicate that SOX9 nuclear export signal is essential for SOX9 sex-specific subcellular localization and could be part of a regulatory switch repressing (in females) or triggering (in males) male-specific sexual differentiation.