Adherence to dietary recommendations for Swedish adults across categories of greenhouse gas emissions from food

Sjörs, Camilla; Hedenus, Fredrik; Sjölander, Arvid; Tillander, Annika; Bälter, Katarina

doi:10.1017/s1368980017002300

Cited by 26 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In our study, reduced dietary carbon footprint over time was associated with both more healthy and unhealthy food choices. In line with previous studies 25,[28][29][30] , our results suggest that increased consumption of unhealthy choices such as sweets and snacks correlates with lower dietary carbon footprint. This finding and the call for reduced intake of animal-based foods have raised concerns regarding the nutritional adequacy of diets mainly designed to reduce the dietary carbon footprint.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…However, exclusion of meat does not necessarily result in a decreased GHGE as the sum of such dietary modifications depends on what foods are chosen to replace the meat. For example, prepared pork has a GHGE of about 10 kg CO 2 e/kg, while the corresponding value for e.g., halloumi cheese is about 17 kg CO 2 e/kg 28 . Hence, well-informed, specific and effective changes in food choices are required to achieve a reduction in climate impact of diet.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This finding and the call for reduced intake of animal-based foods have raised concerns regarding the nutritional adequacy of diets mainly designed to reduce the dietary carbon footprint. Several studies have examined the link between healthy, nutritious, and climate-friendly diets with varying results 28,31,32 . A study in a French population found that GHGE can be reduced by 30% without any major changes in nutritional intake (by for example replacing beef with pork), whereas a larger reduction in GHGE may result in impaired nutritional quality 33 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Changes in dietary carbon footprint over ten years relative to individual characteristics and food intake in the Västerbotten Intervention Programme

Hjorth

Huseinovic

Hallström

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The objective was to examine 10-year changes in dietary carbon footprint relative to individual characteristics and food intake in the unique longitudinal Västerbotten intervention programme, Sweden. Here, 14 591 women and 13 347 men had been followed over time. Food intake was assessed via multiple two study visits 1996-2016, using a 64-item food frequency questionnaire. Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) related to food intake, expressed as kg carbon dioxide equivalents/1000 kcal and day, were estimated. Participants were classified into GHGE quintiles within sex and 10-year age group strata at both visits. Women and men changing from lowest to highest GHGE quintile exhibited highest body mass index within their quintiles at first visit, and the largest increase in intake of meat, minced meat, chicken, fish and butter and the largest decrease in intake of potatoes, rice and pasta. Women and men changing from highest to lowest GHGE quintile exhibited basically lowest rates of university degree and marriage and highest rates of smoking within their quintiles at first visit. Among these, both sexes reported the largest decrease in intake of meat, minced meat and milk, and the largest increase in intake of snacks and, for women, sweets. More research is needed on how to motivate dietary modifications to reduce climate impact and support public health. Food production and consumption generate a large proportion of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) globally. Estimates show that agriculture, including deforestation, is responsible for approximately 24% of anthropogenic GHGE 1 , and that food production contributes with 19-29% of GHGE globally 2. GHGE occur during all stages in the food system, from farming and its inputs to food distribution, consumption, and disposal of waste 3. The main food-related emissions include methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide. Methane is produced by ruminants, during rice farming and manure management; nitrous oxide is produced from natural processes in the nitrogen cycle in agriculture and manure management; and carbon dioxide is produced from transports and during food processing using fossil fuels 4. Food groups that produce high GHGE, i.e., have high dietary carbon footprint, include meat and dairy products. More specifically, livestock production contributes with 80% of agricultural GHGE globally 3. However, there is a gradient in GHGE per kg meat between different meats, with beef and other ruminants yielding higher GHGE compared to pork and poultry. In contrast, many plant-based foods, such as legumes and root vegetables, yield relatively low GHGE compared to animal-based foods 5. Hence, specific food choices among consumers have significant impact on total climate impact of diet and form a window for public health interventions to reduce global GHGE. To achieve the global 2 °C climate target, emissions from agriculture as well as food production and consumption must be reduced, especially in affluent societies. Recent studies have shown that even if the effectiveness of productiv...

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Changes in dietary carbon footprint over ten years relative to individual characteristics and food intake in the Västerbotten Intervention Programme

Hjorth

Huseinovic

Hallström

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Replacing 50% of meat consumption with legumes would reduce the climate impact of the Swedish diet by 20% [12]. For example, 1 kg of soaked and boiled legumes is responsible for 0.3 kg of CO 2 emissions, whereas 1 kg of prepared beef emits 45.9 kg CO 2 [13]. However, dietary recommendations to mitigate climate change must provide adequate nutrition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet and nutrient status of legume consumers in Sweden: a descriptive cross-sectional study

Steib

Johansson

Hefni

et al. 2020

Nutr J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Legumes are nutrient-dense foods and can be an environmentally sustainable alternative to meat consumption. Data on legume intake are scarce and data on legume consumption in Sweden are lacking. This study investigated dietary intake and dietary patterns, together with iron, vitamin D, and folate status, in relation to legume consumption in Sweden. Methods: Cross-sectional dietary and biomarker data (n 1760) from the 2011 Riksmaten national survey were analyzed. All legume foods (including soy) were identified from 4-day dietary records and ferritin, folate, and vitamin D status in a subgroup (n 280). Participants were classified into non-consumers and quartiles of legume intake. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed to uncover dietary patterns associated with legume intake. Partial Least Square (PLS) regression was used to identify variables associated with variations in legume consumption. Results: Legumes were consumed by 44% of the population, with mean (SD) intake of 138 (84) g/d in the highest and 11 (5) g/d in the lowest quartiles. Among consumers, 6% reported being vegetarian, compared with 0.9% among non-consumers. Legume consumers drank less alcohol, but had higher intakes of energy, dietary fiber, folate, thiamin, and several minerals, and more often met recommended intake levels for folate and fiber, critical nutrients in Sweden. Biomarker status did not differ with legume intake. PCA revealed multiple loadings on legumes that generally reflected healthier eating habits for legume-consuming women. PLS revealed that vegetarianism was most influential for high legume intake. Other influential variables were high fruit, tea, nut, and seed intakes. High intake of meat, sodas, fast foods, and sweet foods, together with omnivorism, were influential for low legume intake. The associations were similar for men and women. Conclusions: This study supports dietary recommendations on inclusion of legumes in a healthy diet. Greater focus on assessment of legume intake is necessary to explore the population-wide health effects of legumes as sustainable meat alternatives, and to reinforce national nutritional guidelines.

show abstract

“…Most of previous observational studies have shown inverse associations between diet-related GHGE and adequacy of nutrient intake [ 3 ] and overall diet quality [ 4 – 9 ], while a few showed positive or null associations [ 2 , 7 ]. On the other hand, a series of scenario studies have shown that modeled healthy diets meeting dietary guidelines did not always improve diet-related GHGE [ 10 – 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between diet-related greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient intake adequacy among Japanese adults

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives A growing number of Western studies have been exploring sustainable and healthy dietary patterns that target to reduce diet-related greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) and to achieve nutritional needs. However, research is limited among Asian populations, where food sources for diet-related GHGE differ from those in Western populations. This study aimed to investigate associations between diet-related GHGE and the prevalence of inadequate nutritional intake. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out among 392 healthy Japanese volunteers aged 20–69 years. Dietary intake was assessed by four-non-consecutive day diet record. Diet-related GHGE was estimated using the Global Link Input-Output model and adjusted for energy intake by residual method. Prevalence of inadequacy was defined as a percentage of participants with nutrient intake outside the Tentative Dietary Goal for Preventing Lifestyle-Related Disease or below the Estimated Average Requirement defined by the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for Japanese. The association between diet-related GHGE and the prevalence of inadequacy of the usual intake of each nutrient was examined using logistic regression models. Results Participants with higher diet-related GHGE had overall better adherence to the DRIs. Intakes of all selected nutrients were positively associated with diet-related GHGE, except for carbohydrate, total fat, and saturated fat. With increasing quartile of diet-related GHGE, the prevalence of inadequacy decreased for protein, dietary fiber, potassium, vitamins A, B-6, and C, thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc, while that for sodium increased. Conclusions Diets with lower diet-related GHGE did not have better adherence to the DRIs compared to diets with higher diet-related GHGE among Japanese adults. Drastic dietary change or other strategies such as improving the food system would be needed to achieve a sustainable and healthy diet among Japanese.

show abstract

Adherence to dietary recommendations for Swedish adults across categories of greenhouse gas emissions from food

Cited by 26 publications

References 18 publications

Changes in dietary carbon footprint over ten years relative to individual characteristics and food intake in the Västerbotten Intervention Programme

Changes in dietary carbon footprint over ten years relative to individual characteristics and food intake in the Västerbotten Intervention Programme

Diet and nutrient status of legume consumers in Sweden: a descriptive cross-sectional study

Association between diet-related greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient intake adequacy among Japanese adults

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About