(ANSA) – ROME – Not only does the composition and nutritional quality of a food matter, but also the degree of processing, a crucial element for knowing the real effect of food on health and therefore indicating it on the label would help consumers to choose with increased awareness. These are the results of an Italian study carried out by the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention of the IRCCS Neuromed of Pozzilli (IS) in collaboration with several universities, published in the British Medical Journal. Research conducted for 12 years on the health of over 22,000 people has investigated which aspect of nutrition best defines the risk of mortality.
Suffice it to say that 1 in 5 deaths in the world is due to improper nutrition, for a total of 11 million deaths a year. According to the epidemiologist of the Department, the first author of the study, Marialaura Bonacci, the results showed that the consumption of foods of poor nutritional quality increases the risk of mortality, particularly for cardiovascular diseases, but what is worse is that of ultra-high-quality foods. processed. In fact, over 80% of the foods classified as unhealthy by the Nutri-Score are also ultra-processed. “The increased mortality risk therefore is not to be attributed directly or exclusively to the low nutritional quality of some products – explains the researcher – but to the fact that they are also ultra-processed”. The labeling system, therefore, must evaluate a food on the basis of its nutritional characteristics but above all if it has been processed on an industrial level. The NOVA system developed by the researchers identifies foods with substances that contain additives, such as dyes, preservatives, antioxidants, anti-caking agents, flavor enhancers and sweeteners. This category includes sugary and carbonated drinks, prepackaged baked goods, spreads, but also rusks, some breakfast cereals, crackers and fruit yoghurt. A slice of meat would be preferable to a vegan hamburger because it has not undergone industrial manipulation and probably does not contain food additives. The Nutri-Score, as well as other labeling systems, risks only partially conveying the message aimed at improving the choices at the table.
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