Eating habits, sport, home investigator… what is Albane, a vast public health survey being rolled out from this Monday ?

L’enquête vise à étudier les liens entre la santé et les habitudes alimentaires, l’environnement, l’activité physique. Illustration Unsplash

What are the links between our health, our environment and our habits?? A large-scale survey is being launched from this Monday, September 16. Here is what this study, called Albane for Food, Biosurveillance, Health, Nutrition and Environment, consists of.

A new health survey is being launched, from this Monday, among the French population to better understand the links between health, the environment and food, the health authorities have indicated.

This vast survey aims to assess the health status of the population in France, by documenting “their eating habits, physical activity and exposure to various chemical substances present in the environment”, indicate Santé publique France (SPF) and the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Anses).

Pilot phase for three months

Conducted on an initial sample of 200 adults and 200 children over two years old, the pilot phase is taking place in the regions Ile-de-France and Nouvelle-Aquitaine until December, to prepare for the implementation of the study on a national scale in spring 2025.

Investigator

These people, drawn at random, will begin by receiving an Ipsos investigator at their home “to present the survey to them, obtain their agreement to participate and ask them questions about their home, their accommodation, their health, their diet, etc. It also provides them with the necessary equipment and instructions for the rest of the survey,” the press release explains.

Survey and accessories

Subsequently, participants will first have to fill out a questionnaire on their lifestyle habits over three weeks and then will have to undergo health examinations in a medical biology laboratory.

“Some of the participants will have to wear an accelerometer for a period of seven days to measure their physical activity”, the press release details.

Generalization

The survey, called Albane, will be repeated every two years to “provide a global and continuous vision of the health of the population” in France.

The generalization across the territory of this survey in May 2025 will include “3,000 people, including 2,000 adults and 1,000 children”, specified Anses, questioned by AFP, stressing that the municipalities and households will be drawn at random.

For what purpose ?

These updated data will be "analyzed to help public authorities direct their actions to better protect health at each stage of life", conclude Anses and Public Health France.

Until now, the two organizations have conducted studies separately, “without any real cross-referencing of data” and these were not as frequent, explained Anses.

We will now have "very current data", which "will allow SPF to implement health prevention policies and update health recommendations", added the agency.