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Interventions and public health nutrition

Consuming a diet complying with front-of-pack label criteria may reduce cholesterol levels: a modeling study

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 66, pages 510–516 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

Front-of-pack nutrition labels can help consumers to make healthier choices and stimulate healthier product development. This is the first modeling study to investigate the potential impact on cholesterol levels of consuming a diet consisting of products that comply with the criteria for a ‘healthier choice logo’.

Subjects/Methods:

National food consumption and food composition data were used to estimate the nutrient intake of the Dutch adult population (18–70 years) before and after replacing foods that did not comply with the Choices front-of-pack label criteria. Different scenarios were established. The difference in cholesterol levels in the Dutch population was assessed before and after replacement by means of equations from meta-analyses that calculate how blood lipids change when diet composition changes.

Results:

After replacing non-complying products with products, which comply with the label's criteria (maximum scenario), saturated fatty acids median intake reduced from 14.5 to 9.8 en%. Trans-fatty acids reduced from 0.95 to 0.57 en%. The average predicted changes in low-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol levels were −0.25 and −0.31 mmol/l, respectively. Because high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels reduced as well (−0.05 mmol/l), overall, the result was a slightly positive change in the total cholesterol/HDL ratio (−0.03).

Conclusions:

Our findings suggest that the consumption of foods complying with the criteria for a front-of-pack label could contribute moderately to cardiovascular risk reduction via influencing blood lipids. These findings were independent of other potential effects on related health outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences and the EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    E L Vyth, A J C Roodenburg, I H M Steenhuis & J C Seidell

  2. National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands

    M A H Hendriksen, J M A van Raaij & H Verhagen

  3. Unilever Research and Development, Vlaardingen, The Netherlands

    A J C Roodenburg

  4. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    J Brug & J C Seidell

Authors
  1. E L Vyth
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  2. M A H Hendriksen
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  3. A J C Roodenburg
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  4. I H M Steenhuis
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  5. J M A van Raaij
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  6. H Verhagen
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  7. J Brug
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  8. J C Seidell
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to E L Vyth.

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Competing interests

AJCR was seconded at VU University Amsterdam and is employed by Unilever R&D, the Netherlands. Rest of the authors declare no conflict of interest. ELV was funded by the Choices Foundation. The Choices Foundation had no role in the study design, analysis or interpretation of the data. MAHH, JMAR and HV were funded by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

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Vyth, E., Hendriksen, M., Roodenburg, A. et al. Consuming a diet complying with front-of-pack label criteria may reduce cholesterol levels: a modeling study. Eur J Clin Nutr 66, 510–516 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2011.193

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