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The research aimed at examining how liking for foods high in salt and fat and for foods high in sugar are associated with overall diet quality and how these associations differ according to individual characteristics (i.e., sex, age, education, income, nutrition knowledge, and energy reporting status) in French-speaking adults from the Province of Quebec, Canada. As part of the web-based cross-sectional PREDISE study, 1096 men and women completed online questionnaires. The Food Liking Questionnaire assessed reported liking for a variety of salty foods (high in salt and fat) and sweet foods (high in sugar and either high-fat or low-fat) on a scale from 1 to 9. The Canadian Healthy Eating Index (C-HEI) was computed based on data collected using 24-hour food recalls. Women (vs. men) reported lower liking for salty foods (5.97 ± 1.34 vs. 6.58 ± 1.16, p < 0.0001) and for sweet foods (5.52 ± 1.36 vs. 5.71 ± 1.25, p = 0.015). Multiple linear regressions showed that liking for sweet foods was not associated with C-HEI (B = −0.10, p = 0.78). Given a significant sex interaction in the association between liking for salty foods and C-HEI (p interaction = 0.0218), subsequent analyses were stratified by sex. Multiple linear regressions supported that liking for salty foods was more strongly inversely associated with C-HEI in men (B = −3.37, p < 0.0001) than women (B = −1.46, p = 0.0035). In conclusion, a strong liking for salty foods may interfere with healthy eating, especially in men. Building on these results, future studies should investigate the potential of interventions designed to improve the healthiness of food habits in individuals with strong liking for these foods.

The objective of this study was to validate an automated self-administered 24-hour dietary recall web application (R24W) against recovery biomarkers for sodium, potassium and protein intakes and to identify individual characteristics associated with misreporting in a sample of sixty-one men and sixty-nine women aged 20-65 years from Quebec City, Canada. Each participant completed three dietary recalls using the R24W, provided two 24-hour urinary samples and completed questionnaires to document psychosocial factors. Mean reported intakes were 2.2%, 2.1% and 5.0% lower than the urinary reference values respectively for sodium, potassium and proteins (significant difference for proteins only (p=0.04)). Deattenuated correlations between the self-reported intake and biomarkers were significant for sodium (r: 0.48), potassium (r: 0.56) and proteins (r: 0.68). Cross-classification showed that 39.7% (sodium), 42.9% (potassium) and 42.1 % (proteins) of participants were ranked into the same quartile with both methods and only 4.8% (sodium), 3.2% (potassium) and 0.8% (proteins) were ranked in opposite quartiles. Lower body esteem related to appearance was associated with sodium underreporting in women (r: 0.33, p=0.006). No other individual factor was found to be associated with misreporting. These results suggest that the R24W has a good validity for the assessment of sodium, potassium and protein intakes in a sample of French-speaking adults.

Objectives: A new, web-based, 24-h recall (R24 W) was developed and programmed to assess adherence to Canadian dietary guidelines by automatically generating the Canadian Healthy Eating Index 2007 (C-HEI 2007). The aim of the present study was to determine the relative validity of the R24 W in terms of its ability to generate C-HEI 2007 scores that match those derived from a food record (FR). Methods: A total of 57 women and 50 men filled a 3-d FR and three 24-h food recalls with the R24 W. C-HEI 2007 was calculated with both dietary assessment tools and compared using de-attenuated correlations and kappa scores. Internal validity (correlations between total score and components) and external validity (comparison of the C-HEI 2007 by sex and age groups) were compared between the two dietary assessment methods. Results: The average C-HEI 2007 score obtained with the R24 W (59.4 ± 11.8) was significantly lower than the one obtained with the FR (62.6 ± 11.1). However, the de-attenuated correlation coefficient between C-HEI 2007 obtained either with R24 W or FR was 0.80 (P < 0.01) and 91.6% of participants were classified in the same or adjacent quartile of C-HEI 2007 with both tools. Women obtained a higher C-HEI 2007 mean score (P < 0.01) with both methods and older adults (age: >51 y) received a higher score than younger adults (age: 18-30 y; P < 0.01) with the R24 W but not with the FR (P = 0.22). Conclusions: Although the R24 W yields lower C-HEI 2007 scores compared with data from FR, the classification of individuals was highly consistent between the two measurements.

La marge d’erreur dans l’évaluation de la prise alimentaire au moyen des outils traditionnels comme le rappel de 24h, le questionnaire de fréquence et le journal alimentaire est grande et peut conduire à l’interprétation erronée de résultats de recherche. La recherche sur des biomarqueurs associés à la consommation de fruits et de légumes a le potentiel d’améliorer sensiblement la validité de l’évaluation de la prise alimentaire ainsi que la mesure des associations entre la qualité nutritionnelle et la santé. Les caroténoïdes, des pigments issus presque exclusivement du monde végétal, présentent un intérêt grandissant dans ce domaine. Les caractéristiques des caroténoïdes ainsi que les avantages et les défis que pose leur utilisation dans l’évaluation nutritionnelle seront développés dans la présente revue.

Background and aims: The "Life's Simple 7" (LS7) metrics were developed by the American Heart Association (AHA) to assess and promote cardiovascular health in the American population. The purpose of this study was to assess the overall cardiovascular health of French-speaking adults from the Province of Quebec using the LS7 score. Methods and results: A total of 777 age and sex-representative participants of five different administrative regions in the Province of Quebec (387 men and 390 women; mean age ± SEM: 41.9 ± 0.1 years) were included in these analyses. Metrics of the LS7 score (smoking, physical activity, diet, body mass index, blood pressure, fasting total cholesterol and blood glucose) were analysed to generate a final score ranging from 0 to 7. Only 0.5% of participants met all criteria for ideal cardiovascular health. The diet metric showed the lowest prevalence of "ideal" scores (4.8%) whereas not smoking was the metric with the highest prevalence (88.1%). Women had a higher LS7 score than men, while age and education level (negative and positive association, respectively; p < 0.0001) were also associated with the LS7 score. Conclusion: Consistent with studies conducted among other populations, very few French-speaking adults from the Province of Quebec achieve an ideal cardiovascular health. These data indicate that further public health efforts aimed at promoting the LS7 metrics, focusing primarily on diet, are urgently needed. Specific groups, including older adults and those with lower levels of education, should be targeted when developing cardiovascular health promotion interventions.