Diet, physical activity, and sedentary behavior, as well as markers of nutritional status, are risk or protective factors for many chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, obesity, osteoporosis, and type 2 diabetes. To reduce the risks associated with nutritional issues, the implementation of a dedicated policy has emerged as a public health priority. Improving the population’s nutritional status and increasing its level of physical activity have become major priorities for public health policies in France.

For Santé publique France, the goal is to improve the health of as many people as possible by addressing the various components of nutrition, namely dietary intake, nutritional status, and levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior. To achieve this, Santé publique France’s efforts are based on a specific program, the Nutrition Program, which is organized around a surveillance component and a prevention and health promotion component.

The Nutrition Surveillance Program

The nutritional surveillance program is carried out by the Nutritional Surveillance and Epidemiology Team (Esen). ESEN is a joint team of Santé publique France and Paris 13 University through its collaboration with EREN (Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team, Inserm 1153/INRA 1125/CNAM/University of Paris – Paris 13). Its mission is to regularly provide information on the nutritional status of the population living in France (monitoring of dietary intake, nutritional status, and levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior among the population).
More specifically, its activities enable it to:

• Describe nutritional risk and protective factors in the population;

• Monitor changes in these nutritional factors;

• Identify the emergence of key nutritional factors in terms of public health;

• Clarify their relationship with morbidity and mortality;

• Assess the impact of prevention initiatives on these nutritional factors, particularly within the framework of the National Nutrition and Health Program (PNNS) and, now, the national nutrition and health policy.

Nutritional surveillance relies primarily on conducting repeated cross-sectional studies in the general population or in specific populations (defined according to their nutritional risks, geographic regions, etc.). Repeating these surveys regularly and according to identical protocols is essential for analyzing changes in the nutritional situation in France.
Santé publique France conducts its nutritional surveillance activities in direct collaboration with, on the one hand, public health decision-makers and stakeholders (the Directorate General for Health, PNNS bodies, the High Council for Public Health, etc.) and, on the other hand, with other organizations capable of providing information relevant to nutritional surveillance (ANSES, DRES, etc.). The information produced is used to define and guide the prevention and health promotion initiatives of Santé publique France’s Nutrition Program and is also incorporated into international projects that enable the production of comparative analyses of the situations observed in different countries.

Initiatives to promote healthy eating and physical activity

Promoting healthy eating and physical activity and combating sedentary lifestyles are part of Santé publique France’s mission. Since its launch in 2001, its initiatives in these areas have supported the National Nutrition and Health Program (PNNS). These initiatives are complementary and based on both health promotion and disease prevention, without focusing on a single disease or risk factor. They thus aim to contribute to the creation of an environment that encourages the adoption or maintenance of an active, less sedentary lifestyle and a healthy diet; to improve the public’s knowledge and skills; and to support the practices of professionals in a wide range of sectors (health, social services, education). Particular attention is given to addressing the issue of health inequalities in the context of nutrition.