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NuTWInd is a multidisciplinary project, involving nutritionists, epidemiologists, economists, sociologists, researchers in sensory sciences, technical institute, food industry and Ministry of Agriculture.

This project is devised in 4 Work Packages (WP).

WP1: Overview of the nutritional status

This WP aims to:

1. Characterize dietary behaviours and nutritional status of Martinique and Guadeloupe populations (adults and children), according to several approaches: nutritional intake, achievement of recommendations, share of ultra-processed foods in the diet, share of local foods...
2. Study dietary habits evolution in Martinique over 10 years
3. Identify groups with higher nutritional risk (gender, age and socio-economic position)

This WP will mainly use data from epidemiological studies conducted by the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance (Santé Publique France) in representative random samples: Escal study conducted in 2003 among adults from Martinique and Kannari study conducted in 2014 among adults and children in Martinique and Guadeloupe.

WP2: Dietary behaviours determinants

This WP aims to understanding how individual determinants can modify dietary behaviors (sensory, labeling, price, etc.) by using several approaches.

The objectives of this WP are:

1. Measure sensory preferences for fat, salt and sugar by developing sensory tests and a questionnaire (1500 subjects in Martinique) on the preferences of the adult population of the two territories.
2. Study the relationships between preferences and food consumption of these populations
3. Evaluate how consumers arbitrate their choices according to different motivations (price, preferences, product characteristics, local production) by conducting an experimental economics study.
4. Explore how the food environment influences consumer perceptions, using the qualitative approach.

WP3: Food supply determinants

The objectives of this WP are:

1. Study the evolution dynamics of food imports in terms of price, quantity and nutritional quality over two decades, based on customs data and their determinants
2. Study the evolution dynamics of local production in terms of price, quantity and nutritional quality over two decades, based on existing production data and their determinants
3. Evaluate the nutritional quality of the current food supply

Regarding the imports and local production dynamics, the aim is to study changes in nutritional quality and in ultra-processed products share in diet, ratio of local production / imports in the food of the French West Indies and analyze the link between some determinants such as the globalization of trade, regulatory and tax policies, the establishment of fast-food... and the evolution of imports, in Guadeloupe and Martinique, based on existing customs and production data over 20 years (1995-2016).

Regarding the study of current food supply, the WP aims is to evaluate the nutritional characteristics of the food supply available in the Caribbean by mapping products on the market in terms of nutrient content to assess the variability of nutritional compositions in various product families: sweet beverages, dairy products, processed meat (ham), biscuits. Then, we will study the nutritional benefits (and health gains) possible through product reformulation (local supply) or substitutions of intra-group food consumption. Finally, we will evaluate manoeuvre and constraints (technical feasibility, cost, sensory acceptability, etc.) for the reformulation of products (local offer in Martinique and Guadeloupe).

WP4 : Strategies to improve nutrition

The objective of this WP is to explore relevant strategies at the consumer and the food supply levels to improve the quality of the food of the populations. For this purpose, this WP will:

1. Identify priority dietary changes (especially food groups to be modified) to achieve nutritional recommendations, based on current food supply, by modelling.
2. Simulate the direct impact of food supply modification strategies (reformulation, etc.) in terms of nutritional quality and health and evaluate the changes in dietary consumption necessary to achieve a healthy diet from the reformulated food supply, by modelling.
3. Identify the relevant lines of action through participatory research with stakeholders with a multi-criteria approach (nutritional education, reformulation, etc.) to propose relevant strategies to public and private actors.

Thus, the NuTWInd project brings detailed knowledge on the evolution of behaviours and food supply and their determinants in order to better understand how they influence the nutritional status and the populations health and thus guide future public health actions, adapted to each area.