Association of diet quality and physical activity with healthy ageing in the French NutriNet-Santé cohort

Abstract

A growing number of studies have explored overall health during ageing in a holistic manner by investigating multidimensional models of healthy ageing (HA). However, little attention has been given to the role of adherence to national nutrition guidelines in that context. This study aimed to investigate the prospective association between adherence to the French nutrition guidelines and HA. The authors analysed data from 21 407 participants of the NutriNet-Santé study with a median baseline age of 55·6 years (2009–2014) and initially free of major chronic diseases. HA was defined as not developing major chronic disease, no depressive symptoms, no function-limiting pain, independence in instrumental activities of daily living, good physical, cognitive and social functioning, as well as good self-perceived health. Adherence to guidelines of the French Nutrition and Health Programme (Programme National Nutrition Santé or PNNS) was measured via the PNNS Guideline Score (PNNS-GS), using baseline data from repeated 24-h dietary records and physical activity questionnaires. After a median follow-up of 5·7 years, 46·3 % of participants met our HA criteria. Robust-error-variance Poisson regression revealed that higher PNNS-GS scores, reflecting higher adherence to nutrition recommendations (including both diet and physical activity guidelines), were associated with a higher probability to age healthily (relative riskquartile 4 v. quartile 1 = 1·17 (95 % CI 1·12, 1·22)). Supplementary analyses revealed that this association may, to a small part, be mediated by weight status. The results suggest that high adherence to the French national nutrition recommendations may be linked to better overall health throughout ageing.

Determinants and indicators of successful aging as a multidimensional outcome: a systematic review of longitudinal studies

“…These findings largely correspond to the results by previous reviews (8,15,42). Among individual determinants, adherence to healthy dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean diet, have been pronouncedly associated with higher chances for SA (24,30,31,40). In contrast, individual dietary components, such as high carbohydrate intake and high glycaemic index of a diet were not associated with SA (39).…”

“…The respective sample sizes ranged from 210 (35) to 52,135 (37) participants. Regarding the geographical setting, 10 of the studies were conducted in European countries, namely France (24,(30)(31)(32)38), United Kingdom (28), Finland (19,29), Spain (33), and the Netherlands (36). Six studies were conducted in the United States (22, 25-27, 34, 37), two studies in Australia (39, 40), one study in Brazil (35), and three studies in Asia, with one study in Taiwan (23), one in Indonesia (21), and one in China (20).…”

“…Most studies recruited both male and female participants, with only two studies including exclusively females (26,37), and one study male participants only (29). The follow-up time ranged from five (24) to 36 (29) years. All but three studies included participants aged 45 years or older at study baseline (22,29,31,37).…”

“…Interestingly, Ma et al (37) reported that the lower odds for SA in taller individuals could be modulated by a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Four studies reported positive associations between adherence to dietary recommendations, including the French dietary guidelines (24,30), the Australian dietary recommendations (40), and the Mediterranean diet (31) with SA. Concerning beverages, low alcohol consumption was associated with SA when examined in context of an overall healthy diet (31,32) but not when the univariate association was examined (31).…”

Population ageing and mortality during 1990–2017: A global decomposition analysis

“…As lower income countries experience economic, infrastructure, and public health improvements, they may face challenges from population ageing similar to the challenges higher income nations are now confronting. They should benefit from the lessons learned in higher income countries, and should invest in proven interventions to promote healthy ageing [28][29][30]. As an example, scholars have highlighted the successful efforts of Canada in promoting active, healthy ageing through strategies such as collaborating with various stakeholders to advocate physical activity, and have argued that these efforts could readily be adapted and disseminated in sub-Saharan African countries [28].…”