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Public health
Original research
Modelling the public health benefits of fibre fortification in the Chinese population through food reformulation
  1. Thomas Teh1,
  2. Yang Ying1,
  3. Noa Pereira Prada Schnor2,
  4. Brian Flynn2,
  5. William Goodwin2,
  6. William O’Sullivan2,
  7. Sandrine Pigat2,
  8. John Hirsch2,
  9. Lorraine Crowley2,
  10. Katie Adolphus1,
  11. Ieva Laurie1,
  12. Kavita Karnik1,
  13. Davide Risso1
  1. 1Tate & Lyle PLC, London, UK
  2. 2Creme Global Ltd, Dublin, Ireland
  1. Correspondence to Dr Davide Risso; davide.risso{at}tateandlyle.com

Abstract

Objectives Various studies have highlighted how consuming adequate dietary fibre (DF) foods could confer multiple potential health benefits to humans, though data suggested that the average intake of the population is below the recommendations. The aim of this study, which involved probabilistic, mathematical and statistical modelling, was to understand, for the first time, how fibre fortification in a broad array of food categories could impact the diet and health status of Chinese consumers.

Design A simulation-based approach was used to examine the potential impact of fibre fortification. The China Health and Nutrition Survey dataset was used to evaluate intakes of DF together with a dietary intake mathematical model. Commercially manufactured foods and beverages eligible for fibre fortification were identified and a total of 296 food and beverages were selected for fibre fortification calculation. Foods and beverages eligible for fibre fortification and the concentration of fibre used at intervention were identified based on Chinese legislations and regulations of nutrition label claims. Populations who meet the dietary reference values of fibre fortification have their health outcomes such as weight, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes risk quantified prefibre and postfibre reformulation as per published studies.

Results The simulated fibre fortification intervention model has shown that the mean DF intake increased by 13.28%, from 12.8 g/day of baseline to 14.5 g/day, leading to an increase of 48% (from 6.85% to 10.13%) and 54% (from 14.22% to 21.84%) of the adult and children population, respectively, achieving the recommended fibre guidelines. Additionally, 234 diabetes cases per day (85 340 cases per year) as well as 73 065 deaths secondary to CVD could also potentially be averted or delayed with the increase of DF intake via fibre fortification.

Conclusions This study provides a practical application implicating the potential public health benefits that could be achieved with food product reformulation.

  • public health
  • statistics & research methods
  • China
  • nutrition & dietetics
  • health informatics

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-079924

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available upon reasonable request.

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors TT, YY, IL, KK and DR formulated the research questions and designed the study. NPPS, BF, WG, WO, SP, JH and LC carried out the study. NPPS, BF, WG, WO, SP, JH and LC. analysed the data and interpreted the findings. TT, YY, KA and DR wrote the article, DR acts as guarantor. All authors contributed to editing the article.

    • Funding This research was funded by Tate & Lyle PLC.

    • Competing interests Authors are employees of Tate & Lyle PLC (TT, YY, IL, KA, DR and KK) as indicated by our affiliations. This work was funded by Tate & Lyle PLC, London, UK which specialises in fibres and low-calorie sweetening ingredients used by food and drink producers worldwide. The funders were involved in the design of the study; in the interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript and in the decision to publish the results.

    • Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.