Canadians don’t really eat any better than Americans, warns a new study led by a researcher at Laval University.
These findings represent a “bit of a sudden wake-up call” for Canadians who comfort themselves in thinking that their diet, if not perfect, is at the very least of better quality than that of their neighbors to the south, explained the official. of the study, Michel Lucas.
“At some point, you have to wake up,” said Mr. Lucas, who is a professor at the Faculty of Medicine at Université Laval and a researcher at the CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Center. Food quality is like one of the number one killers in chronic disease. »
Studies using the Canadians’ Diet Quality Index, which reflects the overall quality of food choices relative to Canada’s Food Guide recommendations, had previously concluded that the quality of Canadians’ diets was approximately 20 percentage points higher than that of Americans.
Professor Lucas and his colleagues instead used the Alternative Food Quality Index, which is commonly used in the United States. The researchers analyzed data from the 2004 and 2015 Canadian Community Health Surveys, which included 35,107 and 20,487 people respectively.
In 2004, the researchers found, this index was 36.5 out of 100 in Canada, compared to 34.9 in the United States. In 2015, the index was 39.0 in Canada, compared to 37.1 in 2010-2011 south of the border.
The index in Canada represents a decrease of 20 to 30 points compared to that which had been calculated with the old index.
“It’s not the same note, it’s not the same score,” said Mr. Lucas. Admittedly, we are a little higher than what the Americans can have, but it is not one and a half or two times more. We are two points apart. »
The alternative diet quality index, it was explained in a press release, is calculated from data that links the consumption of certain foods to a lower or higher risk of disease or mortality.
It is thus positively linked to the consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. On the other hand, it is negatively linked to the consumption of sugary drinks, fruit juices, red meats, cold cuts and salt.
The scale includes six positive components, such as fruit and vegetable consumption, and four negative ones, such as meat and sausage consumption, Lucas said. Each tier is good for 10 points, for a maximum total of 100.
“The problem with food, he said, is not necessarily what people eat, but more importantly what people don’t eat. »
The consumption of meats, deli meats and sugary drinks continues to improve, continued Mr. Lucas, and this is not really where the problem lies. “It’s really what people don’t have on their plate, which is vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and legumes, long-chain fatty acids that come from fish said the researcher, adding “moderate alcohol consumption” to the list.
In recent years, he added, both the United States and Canada have seen an improvement in food quality, but only among well-off and well-educated people. That of the less fortunate has remained the same, and “with rising food prices, I think it’s going to get worse and worse,” Lucas said.
For this improvement to continue, he said, we must stop thinking that we are all equal in the choices we are called upon to make in terms of food.
“When you look at countries that have higher food quality (than Canada), these are countries where vegetable consumption is part of a culinary tradition,” he said. But you have to develop those skills and the ability to act. We are not all equal in this. If you’re lucky enough to taste something that’s done properly and love it, it’s much more worth coming back to. »
We see in this regard that the food quality score of immigrants in Canada is higher than that of non-immigrants, since they often come from cultures where the consumption of fruits and vegetables is well rooted, for example, added Ms. Lucas.
The findings of this study were published by the scientific journal Nutrients. Researchers from the universities of Sherbrooke and Montreal also collaborated.