Dataset Information

Diet Quality and Water Scarcity: Evidence from a Large Australian Population Health Survey.

ABSTRACT: There is widespread interest in dietary strategies that lower environmental impacts. However, various forms of malnutrition are also widely prevalent. In a first study of its kind, we quantify the water-scarcity footprint and diet quality score of a large (>9000) population of self-selected adult daily diets. Here, we show that excessive consumption of discretionary foods-i.e., energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods high in saturated fat, added sugars and salt, and alcohol-contributes up to 36% of the water-scarcity impacts and is the primary factor differentiating healthier diets with lower water-scarcity footprint from poorer quality diets with higher water-scarcity footprint. For core food groups (fruits, vegetables, etc.), large differences in water-scarcity footprint existed between individual foods, making difficult the amendment of dietary guidelines for water-scarcity impact reduction. Very large reductions in dietary water-scarcity footprint are possible, but likely best achieved though technological change, product reformulation and procurement strategies in the agricultural and food industries.

SUBMITTER: Ridoutt BG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6723970 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Diet Quality and Water Scarcity: Evidence from a Large Australian Population Health Survey.

Ridoutt Bradley G BG Baird Danielle D Anastasiou Kimberley K Hendrie Gilly A GA

Nutrients 20190809 8

There is widespread interest in dietary strategies that lower environmental impacts. However, various forms of malnutrition are also widely prevalent. In a first study of its kind, we quantify the water-scarcity footprint and diet quality score of a large (>9000) population of self-selected adult daily diets. Here, we show that excessive consumption of discretionary foods-i.e., energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods high in saturated fat, added sugars and salt, and alcohol-contributes up to 36% of ...[more]

PMID: 31404949

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Project description:Diet quality indices score dietary intakes against recommendations, whereas dietary patterns consider the pattern and combination of dietary intakes. Studies evaluating both methodologies in relation to cardiometabolic health in a nationally representative sample are limited. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between diet quality, dietary patterns and markers of cardiometabolic health in Australian adults.Dietary data, using two 24-h dietary recalls, were collected from adults in the cross-sectional Australian Health Survey 2011-2013 (n?=?2121; 46.4 (SE 0.48) years). Diet quality was estimated using the Dietary Guideline Index (DGI). Dietary patterns (DPs), derived using reduced rank regression, were estimated using fiber density, SFA: PUFA and total sugars intake as intermediate markers. Multi-variable adjusted linear regression analyses were used to examine associations between diet quality and DPs and blood biomarkers, body mass index, waist circumference, diastolic and systolic blood pressure and an overall cardiometabolic risk score.DGI was associated with lower glucose (coef -?0.009, SE 0.004; P-trend?=?0.033), body mass index (coef -?0.017, SE 0.007; P-trend?=?0.019) and waist circumference (coef -?0.014, SE 0.005; P-trend?=?0.008). Two dietary patterns were derived: dietary pattern-1 was characterized by higher intakes of pome fruit and wholegrain bread, while dietary pattern-2 was characterized by higher intakes of added sugars and tropical fruit. Dietary pattern-1 was associated with lower body mass index (coef -?0.028, SE 0.007; P-trend<?0.001) and waist circumference (coef -?0.017, SE 0.005; P-trend?=?0.001). There was a trend towards lower cardiometabolic risk score. Dietary pattern-2 was associated with lower HDL-cholesterol (coef -?0.026, SE 0.012; P-trend?=?0.028). There was a trend towards lower diastolic blood pressure. No associations with other markers were observed.Better diet quality and healthier dietary patterns were primarily associated with favorable anthropometric markers of cardiometabolic health. Findings support the need for comparison of whole-diet based methodologies that take into consideration the interactions between foods and nutrients. Longitudinal studies are warranted to better understand causal relationships between diet and cardiometabolic health.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Involving consumers in producing health services is mandated in many countries. Evidence indicates consumer partnerships lead to improved service design, quality and innovation. Involving participants from minority groups is crucial because poor understanding of distinctive needs affects individuals' service experiences and outcomes. Few studies consider service compliance with consumer partnering requirements or inclusion of minority group participants. METHODS:An online survey structured by domains of the Australian National Safety and Quality in Health Service Standards (NSQHS, 2013), was conducted. Questions covered consumer partnering in service planning, management and evaluation plus patient care design and inclusion of consumers from minority groups. Approximately 1200 Australian hospital and day surgery services were identified and 447 individual email addresses were identified for staff leading consumer partnerships. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS. Qualitative responses, managed in NVivo, were analysed thematically. Frequencies were produced to indicate common activities and range of activities within question domains. RESULTS:Comprehensive responses were received from 115 services (25.7%), including metropolitan and non-metropolitan, private and public service settings. Most respondents (95.6%) "partnered with consumers to develop or provide feedback on patient information". Regarding inclusion of participants from minority groups, respondents were least likely to specifically include those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds (23.6%). Public health services were more likely than private services to engage with consumers. CONCLUSIONS:The survey is the first to include responses about consumer partnering from across Australia. While many respondents partner with consumers, it is clear that more easily-organised activity such as involvement in existing committees or commenting on patient information occurs more commonly than involvement in strategy or governance. This raises questions over whether strategic-level involvement is too difficult or unrealistic; or whether services simply lack tools. Minority views may be missed where there is a lack of specific action to include diversity. Future work might address why services choose the activities we found and probe emerging opportunities, such as using social media or online engagement.

Project description:The data presented in this article were collected using a large-scale public survey distributed through the mail to a random sample of 4000 water utility residential account holders in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. The survey collected data on a variety of water-related topics, including water scarcity, climate change, water use at home, perceptions of water sources and water quality, conservation habits, level of acceptance of two potable water reuse scenarios, and level of trust in a variety of entities. The survey also collected demographic data from respondents. Account holders received one of four survey versions, three of which provided different sets of educational material to test different motivations for accepting potable water reuse, and one provided no educational material. The survey was designed and administered using the Tailored Design Method, which involved focus groups, individual debriefing sessions, and a pre-test with members of the sample population to refine the survey instrument, and included a system of five contacts mailed out over a period of several months to maximize response rate. Mail-in and electronic response options were available, and the response rate was 46% (n = 1831). The data were compiled using Survey Monkey and organized using Microsoft Excel and RStudio. The data set featured in this article provides raw survey data plus additional variables created by grouping and consolidating answer options in the raw data. This is the first and most comprehensive set of data known to the authors on public perceptions of water resources and reuse in an arid inland community, and the authors have published open access papers based on this data set, which are linked to this paper. Water managers, planners, engineers, and utilities may be interested in using the data as a point of comparison for their own study on community knowledge of water resources and acceptance of water reuse or in examining the data for relationships not yet explored in the literature.

Dataset Information

Diet Quality and Water Scarcity: Evidence from a Large Australian Population Health Survey.

Publications

Diet Quality and Water Scarcity: Evidence from a Large Australian Population Health Survey.

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