The aim was to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) associated with self-selected diets and to evaluate the impact of modifying dietary structures on diet-associated GHGE. Food consumption ...data from 1918 adults participating in the French national dietary survey and GHGE of 73 highly consumed foods (in g CO2e/100g of edible food) were used to estimate the GHGE of each individual diet. The mean diet-associated GHGE was 4170g CO2e/day and a high inter-individual variability was observed. When the total caloric intakes were reduced to meet the individual energy needs, the diet-associated GHGE decreased by either 10.7% or 2.4%, depending on the assumption made on the average physical activity level of the population. The meat and deli meat food group represented the strongest diet-associated GHGE contributor, but the impact of different meat reduction scenarios was modest. In particular, when fruit and vegetables were iso-calorically substituted for meat, either null or even positive diet-associated GHGE variations were observed because the needed amounts of fruit and vegetables to maintain the caloric content of the diet were high. Therefore, substituting fruit and vegetables for meat (especially deli meat) may be desirable for health but is not necessarily the best approach to decreasing diet-associated GHGE.
► Diet-associated greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) were estimated using the French individual food consumption survey data. ► The mean diet-associated GHGE was estimated at 4170g CO2e/d and was higher for men than for women. ► Individual diet-associated GHGE showed a high variability due to the variability of both diet quantity and diet structure. ► Meat was the strongest contributor to diet-associated GHGE. ► When meat was iso-calorically replaced with fruit and vegetables, only small diet-associated GHGE variations were observed.
Background/Objectives: Nutrient profiling of foods is defined as the science of ranking or classifying foods based on their nutrient content. Nutrient profiles can be calculated based on 100 g or 100 ...kcal of food or on standard serving sizes. The objective of this study was to compare the performance of nutrient profiles based on 100 g, 100 kcal and government-mandated serving sizes, and to identify the optimal base of calculation. Subjects/Methods: Nutrient profiles tested were composed of positive subscores based on nutrients to encourage and negative subscores based on nutrients to limit. Alternative profiles, computed using different bases of calculation, were used to rank order 378 commonly consumed foods from a food frequency instrument. Profile performance was tested with respect to the foods' energy density. Results: Serving sizes, defined by the US Food and Drug Administration as reference amounts customarily consumed (RACC), were inversely linked to energy density of foods. Positive subscores based on 100 kcal were equivalent to those calculated using RACC values. Negative subscores performed better when based on 100 g as opposed to 100 kcal. Conclusions: Models based on serving sizes and on 100 kcal were preferable for positive subscores and models based on 100 g of food were preferable for negative subscores. RACC-based profiles may represent an attractive option for the US consumer.
Energy-dense diets offer a low-cost dietary option to the consumer. However, they are more likely to be nutrient-poor. In this study, based on the French national food consumption survey, the diet ...costs were estimated using retail food prices in France. Adult participants were stratified by quartiles of energy cost (in euros/10 MJ). Dietary energy density, energy and nutrient intakes were then compared across groups. Participants in the lowest quartile of energy cost had the highest energy intakes, the most energy-dense diets and the lowest daily intakes of key vitamins and micronutrients. Participants in the highest quartile of energy cost had lower energy intakes, and diets that were higher in nutrients and lower in energy density. However, their daily diet costs were 165% higher. In this observational study, the more nutrient-dense diets were associated with higher diet costs.
Background: Nutrient profiling of foods is defined as the science of classifying foods based on their nutrient content. Food rankings generated by nutrient profile models need to be tested against ...objective reality as opposed to public opinion. Objective: To test the performance of selected nutrient profile models in relation to the foods' energy density (kcal g-1) and energy cost (Dollar per 1000 kcal). Subjects/Methods: Analyses were based on 378 component foods of a food frequency instrument. The models tested were the French nutrient adequacy models NAS23 and NAS16 and nutrient density models NDS23 and NDS16; and a family of nutrient-rich models (NR(n), where n=5-7; 10-12, and 15). Also tested were LIM scores and a modified British Food Standards Agency model WXYfm. Profiles were calculated based on 100 g, 100 kcal and on Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed. Food rankings generated by different models were correlated with each other and with the foods' energy density and energy cost. Results: Nutrient profile models based on protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals showed an inverse correlation with energy density that diminished as more micronutrients were introduced into the model. Models based on fat, sugar and sodium were highly correlated with energy density. Foods classified as healthier were generally associated with higher energy costs. Conclusions: Not all models accurately reflected the foods' content of nutrients known to be beneficial to health. High correlations with energy density meant that some models classified foods based on their energy density as opposed to nutrient content.
Background: The beneficial impact of the traditional Mediterranean diet pattern on adiposity is still under debate, and this has never been assessed in a developing Mediterranean country. Objectives: ...To assess the relationships between adherence to a traditional Mediterranean diet and adiposity indexes, that is, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), in a sample from rural Lebanon. Design: A sample of 798 adults, aged 40–60 years, was selected in continental rural areas of Lebanon for a cross-sectional study. The questionnaire included socio-demographic, anthropometric and dietary sections. The daily consumption frequencies of selected food groups, categorized as positive or negative components, were calculated based on a food frequency questionnaire. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was assessed using six a priori scores; including the widely used Mediterranean diet score (MDS). Associations between diet scores and BMI and WC were assessed. Results: Overall, the diet of the study sample only partially matched the traditional Mediterranean diet. A total of 17.0% of men and 33.7% women were obese. The MDS was negatively associated (P<0.05) with WC, but not BMI, in men and women. The constructed composite Mediterranean score combining positive components of the diet (whole cereals, vegetables, legumes and fruit, olive oil and fish) and negative components adapted to this sample (refined cereals and pastries, and liquid sweets) was consistently and negatively associated with both BMI and WC for men and women in multivariate models. A 2-point increase in that score was associated with a decrease in BMI of 0.51 and 0.78 kg m–2 and a decrease in WC of 2.77 and 4.76 cm in men and women, respectively. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that a Mediterranean diet is negatively associated with obesity and visceral adiposity in a rural population of a developing Mediterranean country.
Mathematical optimisation of diets is generally used to translate nutrient‐based recommendations into healthy food choices but can also be used to assess the possible impact of food‐based dietary ...guidelines (FBDG) on nutrient intakes. Optimisation of individual diets, which allows individual variability of food consumption to be taken into account, generates more robust results and more realistic diets than population diet optimisation. It was used to simulate the impact on nutrient intakes of complying with the new French FBDGs. For each observed diet of adults in the French INCA2 survey, a new isoenergetic diet was designed to meet all food consumption frequencies recommended by the new French FBDGs, as interpreted by the constraints included in a model called DP2. Because the dairy food group is the only one whose guideline has been reduced (from 3 to 2 portions/day) compared to the previous FBDGs, an alternative model, called DP3, imposing 3 daily portions of dairy products instead of 2 was also tested. Diets optimised with the DP2 model had lower energy density and higher nutrient density than the observed diets, and inadequate intakes decreased for most vitamins and minerals. With the alternative DP3 model, the decrease in saturates was less pronounced than with 2 portions/day of dairy products (13.8%, 11.9% and 12.8% energy in observed diets and in DP2 and DP3, respectively), but calcium adequacy was improved instead of being worsened (51%, 58% and 16% of inadequacy in observed diets and in diets modelled with 2 portions/day and 3 portions/day of dairy products, respectively). Individual diet optimisation is a powerful tool for assessing the nutritional relevance of existing FBDGs and to test possible alternatives.
There is great potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) from public-sector meals. This paper aimed to develop a strategy for reducing GHGE in the Swedish school food supply while ...ensuring nutritional adequacy, affordability, and cultural acceptability. Amounts, prices and GHGE-values for all foods and drinks supplied to three schools over one year were gathered. The amounts were optimized by linear programming. Four nutritionally adequate models were developed: Model 1 minimized GHGE while constraining the relative deviation (RD) from the observed food supply, Model 2 minimized total RD while imposing stepwise GHGE reductions, Model 3 additionally constrained RD for individual foods to an upper and lower limit, and Model 4 further controlled how pair-wise ratios of 15 food groups could deviate. Models 1 and 2 reduced GHGE by up to 95% but omitted entire food categories or increased the supply of some individual foods by more than 800% and were deemed unfeasible. Model 3 reduced GHGE by up to 60%, excluded no foods, avoided high RDs of individual foods, but resulted in large changes in food-group ratios. Model 4 limited the changes in food-group ratios but resulted in a higher number of foods deviating from the observed supply and limited the potential of reducing GHGE in one school to 20%. Cost was reduced in almost all solutions. An omnivorous, nutritionally adequate, and affordable school food supply with considerably lower GHGE is achievable with moderate changes to the observed food supply; i.e., with Models 3 and 4. Trade-offs will always have to be made between achieving GHGE reductions and preserving similarity to the current supply.
•Life Cycle Assessment was applied to observed and optimized French population diet.•Diet with low animal protein share has mixed environmental impacts.•Climate change, acidification, land occupation ...and energy use decreased.•Water scarcity and land-use impacts on biodiversity increased.•Changing agricultural practices and dietary recommendations remains an objective.
Decreasing the share of protein contributed by animal-based foods is recommended to move towards more sustainable and healthier diets. This study aimed to assess the potential environmental impacts of diets with a lower share of animal protein. The diets were modeled to include the minimum share of animal protein in total protein that met nutrient requirements and did not increase costs. The new diets also minimized the difference in the quantity of food from those of observed (OBS) diets. They were modeled for five adult subpopulations (defined by sex and age) using mathematical optimization. The model was created by combining the INCA2 database (to model OBS diets in the French population) and a database of 207 food items to adjust nutritional and price parameters. All modeled diets satisfied nutritional and cost constraints. A low-animal-protein (LAP) diet was identified for each subpopulation by progressively decreasing the share of animal protein by steps of 5% until the recommended quantity of protein and/or consumption constraints were no longer satisfied. Potential environmental impacts of the LAP diets in eight impact categories were calculated using life cycle assessment and life cycle inventories from Agribalyse® 3.0. A LAP diet for the entire population was calculated as a weighted mean of the subpopulations’ LAP diets. The share of animal protein decreased from 70% in the OBS diet to 50% in the LAP diet. Compared to the OBS diet, the LAP diet decreased five environmental impacts: climate change (greenhouse gas emissions), acidification (emissions of acidifying compounds) and land occupation (all by more than 30%), cumulative energy demand (by 23%) and marine eutrophication (by 13%). Conversely, it increased three environmental impacts: freshwater eutrophication and water use (both by ca. 40%) and biodiversity damage potential (potential loss of species associated with land use) (by 66%). These results suggest that decreasing the share of animal protein to 50% is compatible with nutritional requirements, affordability and consumption constraints, but would have mixed effects on the environment.
Nutrient profiling classifies individual food products according to their nutrient content. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), validation is a key step in the development of a nutrient ...profiling system. The aim was to assess the construct validity of five European nutrient profiling systems (Choices, Keyhole, (AFSSA), European Commission (EC) system and FoodProfiler). Construct validity was assessed for each of the five-selected nutrient profiling systems by testing whether healthy foods (that is, identified as eligible by the system) make healthy diets, and unhealthy foods (that is, non-eligible) make unhealthy diets, using diet modeling. The AFSSA, EC and FoodProfiler systems were identified as valid, but differences in their levels of permissiveness suggested some misclassified food products. The two other systems failed the construct validity assessment. Among these three systems, the EC system is the less demanding in terms of nutritional information, it would, therefore, be the easiest to implement for regulating nutrition and health claims in Europe.
Une alimentation adéquate est un élément clé du vieillissement en bonne santé. L’intervention « Alimentation et activité physique du sujet âgé » (ALAPAGE) fait l’hypothèse qu’il est possible ...d’améliorer la qualité nutritionnelle de l’alimentation de seniors vivant à domicile grâce à des ateliers collectifs co-construits entre professionnels de la prévention, seniors et chercheurs, et intégrant des activités pédagogiques ciblant notamment la diversité alimentaire. L’objectif de ce travail était de valider qu’un score de diversité développé spécifiquement pour les seniors dans le cadre du projet ALAPAGE reflète bien la qualité nutritionnelle de leurs régimes alimentaires.
Les apports alimentaires et nutritionnels d’un échantillon représentatif d’adultes de 60 ans et plus, résidant en France (n=696), ont été calculés à partir des données de la troisième étude individuelle nationale des consommations alimentaires (INCA3). Le score de diversité ALAPAGE (DAS) est fondé sur les occurrences de consommation de 20 catégories d’aliments, calculées, selon les catégories, à partir de trois rappels de 24 heures ou d’un questionnaire de fréquence. Des points positifs ou négatifs sont attribués selon que la consommation de ces catégories est promue ou limitée dans les recommandations alimentaires en vigueur, et sommés pour obtenir le DAS. Afin d’apprécier la validité du DAS, les coefficients de corrélation de Pearson du DAS avec les apports énergétiques, le PANDiet et ses sous-scores d’adéquation et de modération, le mean adequacy ratio (MAR) et la densité énergétique solide (DES) ont été estimés.
Au sein de l’échantillon, le DAS moyen était de 53±17 et suivait une distribution normale. Les catégories alimentaires qui contribuaient le plus à l’augmentation du DAS étaient les fruits, les légumes et les produits céréaliers complets (r≥0,52 pour ces trois catégories ; p<0,01). Le DAS était positivement corrélé aux indicateurs d’adéquation nutritionnelle (r=0,43 pour le PANDiet, 0,29 pour le sous-score d’adéquation et 0,28 pour le MAR ; p<0,01) et inversement corrélé à la DES (r=−0,39 ; p<0,01). Le DAS n’était corrélé ni aux apports énergétiques, ni au sous-score de modération (r=0,001 et 0,05 respectivement ; NS).
Ce nouveau score de diversité alimentaire reflétait bien la qualité nutritionnelle de l’alimentation, indépendamment des apports énergétiques. Par ailleurs, une plus grande diversité selon le DAS n’était pas corrélée aux aspects négatifs de l’alimentation, contrairement à d’autres scores de diversité alimentaire. Reposant sur une simple mesure des occurrences de consommation, le DAS est un outil facile à déployer pour estimer la qualité nutritionnelle de l’alimentation. Il sera utilisé pour évaluer l’impact de l’intervention ALAPAGE sur la diversité de l’alimentation des seniors.
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