Is there a relation between the nutritional adequacy

Is there a relation between the nutritional adequacy of diets and their greenhouse gas emissions?
Vieux F.a, Soler L.G.b, Supkova M.c, Russel M.d, Redlingshofer B.e, Darmon N.a
a INRA
UMR 1260 « Nutriments lipidiques et prévention des maladies métaboliques », Faculté de médecine de la Timone, 27, boulevard Jean Moulin, 13005 MARSEILLE; b INRA U 1303 « Alimentation et sciences
sociales » (Aliss), 65 Bld de Brandebourg - 94205 Ivry sur Seine; c Freelance, 47 rue de Meaux, 75019 Paris; d INRA Unité Collège de direction (CODIR), 147 rue de l’université, 75338 Paris cedex 07; e INRA
Unité Mission d’anticipation recherche/société & développement durable, 147 rue de l’université, 75338 Paris cedex 07
Background
Objective
Healthy diets are supposed to be good for the environment because they mainly rely on
plant-based foods which impact the environment less heavily than animal-based foods
To compare the Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) of selfselected diets, depending on their level of nutritional adequacy
Method
1) Data
Individual dietary intakes (7-d record) from INCA 2 national dietary survey, 1918 adults, 1312 foods
GHGE, in CO2-eq/100g edible weight, of 73 highly consumed foods, representative of their food category.
2) Estimation of greenhouse gas emissions associated with individual diets
It was hypothesized that when an individual consumes a given quantity of a food category, this quantity was constituted only by the food items
representative of this category and in the same proportions that are found in the average diet of the population
3) Identification of 4 groups of eaters, based on 3 nutritional quality indicators:
ED, Energy Density: in kcal/100g, amount of energy in 100 g of diet (based on solid food only).
MAR, Mean Adequacy Ratio: in %/d, arithmetic mean (each ratio being cut at 100%) of percent
French recommended dietary allowances for 20 nutrients (proteins, fibres, vitamins and minerals).
MER, mean excess ratio: arithmetic mean (each ratio being cut at 100%) of percent French
maximal recommended values for sodium, SFA (saturated fatty acids) and added sugars per day.
4 groups of eaters:
3 nutritional goals:
Healthy :
3 goals
ED < median
MAR > median
MER < median
Intermediate + :
Intermediate – :
Unhealthy:
2 goals
1 goal
0 goal
Results
Figure 1: Distribution of dietary GHGE among the population
P=0.0452
Healthy
Intermediate +
Intermediate –
Unhealthy
Figure 1: Mean dietary GHGE in men and women from the 4
groups of eaters
Mean GHGE
was 4090 g
eqCO2/person.d
and a high
variability was
observed within
each group of
eaters.
6000
High
0.2786
Int -
Low
<0.0001
0.004
5000
0.0023
4000
Int +
0.0654
<0.0001
3000
2000
Table 1: Total diet weight and total energy intake, among the 4
groups of eaters
Healthy Inter + Inter - Unhealthy
p
(Men)
n=98
n=297 n=275
n=106
Total energy intake (kcal/d)
2366
2384
2675
2495
0,0001
Total diet weight (g/d)
3231
2964
2894
2595
0,0001
% of vegetable products to total energy
47
40
35
27
0,0001
(Women)
n=171 n=397 n=385
n=189
Total energy intake(kcal/d)
1758
1742
1980
1924
0,0001
Total diet weight (g/d)
2977
2635
2430
2390
0,0001
% of vegetable products to total energy
45
43
35
31
0,0001
1000
Healthy eaters
consumed more
energy from
vegetable
products
Healthy eaters
consumed less
energy but a
higher amount
of foods
0
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Crude value
Quantity
adjusted Energy adjusted
Crude values
Quantity
adjusted
Energy adjusted
Dietary GHGE was not significantly different among the 4 groups of men.
For women, healthy eaters had a higher dietary GHGE than unhealthy eaters
After adjustment for total diet weight, in the men subsample, healthy eaters
had the lowest dietary GHGE. There was no significant difference in women
 After adjustment for energy, unhealthy eaters tend to have a lower dietary
GHGE than healthy eaters (p<0.0001)
Conclusion
The relation between the nutritional adequacy of self-selected diets and their GHGE seems to be weak. Healthy eaters have a dietary GHGE equal
(men) or higher (women) than unhealthy eaters. This is due to the fact that nutritionally adequate diets contain high amounts of foods, in
particular fruit and vegetables and starchy foods. However, healthy eaters consume high amount of these low impacting foods.
Poster Reference Number:27/143
Area: Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyle