The Modelled Population Obesity-Related Health Benefits of Reducing Consumption of Discretionary Foods in Australia

Abstract

Over one third of Australians’ daily energy intake is from discretionary foods and drinks. While many health promotion efforts seek to limit discretionary food intake, the population health impact of reductions in the consumption of different types of discretionary foods (e.g., sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), confectionery, sweet biscuits) has not been quantified. This study estimated the potential reductions in body weight, obesity-related disease incidence, and healthcare cost savings associated with consumption of one less serving per week of different discretionary foods. Reductions in the different types of discretionary food were modelled individually to estimate the impact on energy consumption and population body weight by 5-year age and sex groups. It was assumed that one serving of discretionary food each week was replaced with either a serving of fruit or popcorn, and a serving (375 mL) of SSBs was replaced with coffee, tea, or milk. Proportional multi-state multiple-cohort Markov modelling estimated likely resultant health adjusted life years (HALYs) gained and healthcare costs saved over the lifetime of the 2010 Australian population. A reduction of one serving of SSBs (375 mL) had the greatest potential impact in terms of weight reduction, particularly in ages 19–24 years (mean 0.31 kg, 95% UI: 0.23 kg to 0.37 kg) and overall healthcare cost savings of AUD 793.4 million (95% UI: 589.1 M to 976.1 M). A decrease of one serving of sweet biscuits had the second largest potential impact on weight change overall, with healthcare cost savings of $640.7 M (95% CI: $402.6 M to $885.8 M) and the largest potential weight reduction amongst those aged 75 years and over (mean 0.21 kg, 95% UI: 0.14 kg to 0.27 kg). The results demonstrate that small reductions in discretionary food consumption are likely to have substantial health benefits at the population level. Moreover, the study highlights that policy responses to improve population diets may need to be tailored to target different types of foods for different population groups.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdowns and Changes in Body Weight among Polish Women. A Cross-Sectional Online Survey PLifeCOVID-19 Study

“…The decrease in body weight was also positively correlated with the decrease in consumption of the so-called discretionary foods: confectionery, salty snacks, commercial pastry, fast food, and sugar-sweetened beverages. Such an effect is a confirmed phenomenon, that reducing the consumption of those types of foods and replacing them, even partially, with healthy products leads to weight loss in people of all ages [50]. Our results prove that weight loss during the lockdown period was achieved by changes in eating behavior toward a healthier diet.…”

Diets within Environmental Limits: The Climate Impact of Current and Recommended Australian Diets

“…Different fresh meats and alternatives were separately studied as meats have been reported to be important sources of dietary GHG emissions [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. Different discretionary choices were also separately examined because they are widely overconsumed by Australians and are a major public health nutrition concern [ 38 , 39 , 40 ]. Discretionary choices are energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods and beverages high in saturated fat, added sugars and salt, and alcohol [ 26 ].…”

Impact of weight management nutrition interventions on dietary outcomes in children and adolescents with overweight or obesity: a systematic review with meta‐analysis

“…To demonstrate the clinical practice implications of minor dietary adjustments, Lal et al . ( 130 ) modelled the impact of a small reduction in energy‐dense, nutrient‐poor food consumption in Australia. Substituting or replacing specific EDNP foods resulted in an estimated 6–57 kJ day –1 per food serve reduction in total energy intake for children aged 7–18 years.…”

“…Substituting or replacing specific EDNP foods resulted in an estimated 6–57 kJ day –1 per food serve reduction in total energy intake for children aged 7–18 years. Importantly, further modelling identified that these change were associated with significant population level health improvements and substantial healthcare cost savings ( 130 ) .…”

“…Although dietary intake reporting is prone to error and bias (128) , these findings indicate that reduction in TEI contributes to weight change reported in the systematic reviews from which the current RCTs were drawn (5,6,129) . To demonstrate the clinical practice implications of minor dietary adjustments, Lal et al (130) modelled the impact of a small reduction in energydense, nutrient-poor food consumption in Australia. Substituting or replacing specific EDNP foods resulted in an estimated 6-57 kJ day -1 per food serve reduction in total energy intake for children aged 7-18 years.…”