The Mon Bilan Prévention system, launched in June 2024, marks a turning point in the structuring of prevention in France. It is no longer about distributing generic advice on diet or sleep, but about building a personalized prevention plan with a healthcare professional, covering physical activity, sedentary behavior, addictions, vaccination, and mental health.
Sedentary Behavior and Active Interruptions: What the Recommendations Have Changed
We still too often observe a confusion between physical activity and combating sedentary behavior. Recent recommendations clearly distinguish these two areas. Engaging in sports three times a week does not compensate for eight consecutive hours of sitting.
Regular interruptions of sitting (standing up, walking for a few minutes, incorporating movement into calls or meetings) constitute a distinct lever, separate from scheduled sports sessions.
Resources like those offered by UniverSanté help to better understand how to articulate global prevention and daily practices tailored to each profile.
This distinction has direct practical consequences. An employee working remotely who runs in the morning but remains seated without interruption from 9 AM to 6 PM still maintains a metabolic and cardiovascular risk profile. We recommend scheduling active micro-breaks every 45 to 60 minutes, regardless of any sports practice.
Adapted Physical Activity: Prescription and Care Pathways
The Haute Autorité de santé now positions adapted physical activity (APA) as a health lever to be sustainably integrated into prevention and care pathways. It is no longer an option reserved for already active individuals or those in post-operative rehabilitation.
APA is integrated into the healthcare system on par with medication treatment. Sports on prescription is progressing, supported by patient associations and healthcare professionals advocating for broader reimbursement of supervised programs.
Criteria for Referral to an APA Program
- Presence of a chronic condition (diabetes, heart failure, musculoskeletal disorders) justifying an adaptation of the intensity and type of exercise
- Prolonged sedentary behavior with identified cardiovascular risk factors during a prevention assessment
- Mental health issues (anxiety, depression) for which regular physical activity has shown effects comparable to certain pharmacological treatments
- Progressive loss of autonomy in the elderly, where a supervised program reduces the risk of falls and maintains mobility
The tipping point is personalization. An APA program is not just about walking 30 minutes a day. It incorporates the medical context, functional capacities, and patient preferences to ensure long-term adherence.
Cognitive Prevention: The Cumulative Factors Identified by WHO
The new WHO guidelines on dementia prevention emphasize that a significant portion of cases could be avoided or delayed by addressing modifiable factors. This comprehensive approach redistributes priorities in prevention.
The approach does not rely on a single lever. It combines physical activity, social connections, balanced nutrition, smoking cessation, limiting alcohol, and controlling blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. Cognitive health is built through the accumulation of protective behaviors, not through isolated interventions.
The Underestimated Role of Social Connections
Among these factors, social isolation remains the most neglected in individual prevention strategies. We find that programs focused on diet and exercise often overlook this dimension. Maintaining regular social interactions protects cognitive reserve just as much as a diet rich in protective nutrients.
Nutrition and Dietary Recommendations: The Filter of Inequalities
Official dietary recommendations face a structural obstacle: social inequalities condition the reception of prevention messages. An identical nutritional advice does not have the same effect depending on income level, geographical access to fresh products, or level of food education.
Recent studies on how populations receive dietary recommendations show that ecological factors (short supply chains, seasonality) and economic factors weigh as heavily as the nutritional content itself. Recommending five fruits and vegetables a day without considering the cost of the grocery basket remains a dead end for a significant portion of the population.
Building a Realistic Dietary Routine
Effective nutritional prevention relies on gradual adjustments rooted in daily life, not on a theoretical ideal diet. Reducing ultra-processed products, increasing the share of legumes, and diversifying protein sources are achievable goals without disrupting the budget.
The challenge for healthcare professionals is to contextualize each recommendation. A personalized prevention plan that incorporates the patient’s real constraints (budget, preparation time, cultural preferences) is far more likely to be followed than a standardized sheet.
Health prevention is no longer just a list of good practices. The framework set by Mon Bilan Prévention, the WHO data on dementia, and the integration of APA into care pathways outline an approach where each prevention lever is prescribed and personalized. It is this granularity that makes the difference between wellness advice and a sustainable health strategy.
