Dataset Information

Healthy and Climate-Friendly Eating Patterns in the New Zealand Context.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The global food system is driving both the climate crisis and the growing burden of noncommunicable disease. International research has highlighted the climate and health co-benefit opportunity inherent in widespread uptake of plant-based diets. Nevertheless, uncertainty remains as to what constitutes healthy and climate-friendly eating patterns in specific world regions. OBJECTIVES:Using New Zealand as a case study, this research investigates the extent to which potential contextual differences may affect the local applicability of international trends. It further examines the potential for demand-end avenues to support a transition toward a healthier, more climate-friendly food system in New Zealand. METHODS:A New Zealand-specific life-cycle assessment (LCA) database was developed by modifying cradle to point-of-sale reference emissions estimates according to the New Zealand context. This food emissions database, together with a New Zealand-specific multistate life-table model, was then used to estimate climate, health, and health system cost impacts associated with shifting current consumption to align with dietary scenarios that conform to the New Zealand dietary guidelines (NZDGs). RESULTS:Whole plant foods, including vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains were substantially less climate-polluting (1.2-1.8?kgCO2e/kg) than animal-based foods, particularly red and processed meats (12-21?kgCO2e/kg). Shifting population-level consumption to align with the NZDGs would confer diet-related emissions savings of 4-42%, depending on the degree of dietary change and food waste minimization pursued. NZDG-abiding dietary scenarios, when modeled out over the lifetime of the current New Zealand population, would also confer large health gains (1.0-1.5 million quality-adjusted life-years) and health care system cost savings (NZ$14-20?billion). DISCUSSION:Guideline-abiding dietary scenarios, particularly those that prioritize plant-based foods, have the potential to confer substantial climate and health gains. This research shows that major contextual differences specific to New Zealand's food system do not appear to cause notable deviation from global trends, reinforcing recent international research. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP5996.

SUBMITTER: Drew J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7015541 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Healthy and Climate-Friendly Eating Patterns in the New Zealand Context.

Drew Jonathan J Cleghorn Cristina C Macmillan Alexandra A Mizdrak Anja A

Environmental health perspectives 20200122 1

<h4>Background</h4>The global food system is driving both the climate crisis and the growing burden of noncommunicable disease. International research has highlighted the climate and health co-benefit opportunity inherent in widespread uptake of plant-based diets. Nevertheless, uncertainty remains as to what constitutes healthy and climate-friendly eating patterns in specific world regions.<h4>Objectives</h4>Using New Zealand as a case study, this research investigates the extent to which potent ...[more]

PMID: 31967488

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Project description:ImportanceThe 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend multiple healthy eating patterns. However, few studies have examined the associations of adherence to different dietary patterns with long-term risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).ObjectiveTo examine the associations of dietary scores for 4 healthy eating patterns with risk of incident CVD.Design, setting, and participantsProspective cohort study of initially healthy women from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) (1984-2016) and the NHS II (1991-2017) and men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) (1986-2012). The dates of analysis were July 25 to December 4, 2019.ExposuresHealthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015), Alternate Mediterranean Diet Score (AMED), Healthful Plant-Based Diet Index (HPDI), and Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI).Main outcomes and measuresCardiovascular disease events, including fatal and nonfatal coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke.ResultsThe final study sample included 74 930 women in the NHS (mean [SD] baseline age, 50.2 [7.2] years), 90 864 women in the NHS II (mean [SD] baseline age, 36.1 [4.7] years), and 43 339 men in the HPFS (mean [SD] baseline age, 53.2 [9.6] years). During a total of 5 257 190 person-years of follow-up, 23 366 incident CVD cases were documented (18 092 CHD and 5687 stroke) (some individuals were diagnosed as having both CHD and stroke). Comparing the highest with the lowest quintiles, the pooled multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of CVD were 0.83 (95% CI, 0.79-0.86) for the HEI-2015, 0.83 (95% CI, 0.79-0.86) for the AMED, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.82-0.89) for the HPDI, and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.75-0.82) for the AHEI (P for trend <.001 for all). In addition, a 25-percentile higher dietary score was associated with 10% to 20% lower risk of CVD (pooled HR, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.77-0.83] for the HEI-2015; 0.90 [95% CI, 0.87-0.92] for the AMED; 0.86 [95% CI, 0.82-0.89] for the HPDI; and 0.81 [95% CI, 0.78-0.84] for the AHEI). These dietary scores were statistically significantly associated with lower risk of both CHD and stroke. In analyses stratified by race/ethnicity and other potential risk factors for CVD, the inverse associations between these scores and risk of CVD were consistent in most subgroups.Conclusions and relevanceIn 3 large prospective cohorts with up to 32 years of follow-up, greater adherence to various healthy eating patterns was consistently associated with lower risk of CVD. These findings support the recommendations of the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans that multiple healthy eating patterns can be adapted to individual food traditions and preferences.

Project description:BackgroundA transition to healthy and sustainable diets has the potential to improve human and planetary health but diets need to meet requirements for nutritional adequacy, health, environmental targets, and be acceptable to consumers.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to derive a nutritionally adequate and healthy diet that has the least deviation possible from the average observed diet of Danish adults while aiming for a greenhouse gas emission (GHGE) reduction of 31%, corresponding to the GHGE level of the Danish plant-rich diet, which lays the foundation for the current healthy and sustainable food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) in Denmark.MethodsWith an objective function minimizing the departure from the average observed diet of Danish adults, four diet optimizations were run using quadratic programming, with different combinations of diet constraints: (1) nutrients only (Nutri), (2) nutrients and health-based targets for food amounts (NutriHealth), (3) GHGE only (GHGE), and finally, (4) combined nutrient, health and GHGE constraints (NutriHealthGHGE).ResultsThe GHGE of the four optimized diets were 3.93 kg CO2-eq (Nutri), 3.77 kg CO2-eq (NutriHealth) and 3.01 kg CO2-eq (GHGE and NutriHealthGHGE), compared to 4.37 kg CO2-eq in the observed diet. The proportion of energy from animal-based foods was 21%-25% in the optimized diets compared to 34% in the observed diet and 18% in the Danish plant-rich diet. Moreover, compared to the average Danish diet, the NutriHealthGHGE diet contained more grains and starches (44 E% vs. 28 E%), nuts (+230%), fatty fish (+89%), eggs (+47%); less cheese (-73%), animal-based fats (-76%), total meat (-42%); and very limited amounts of ruminant meat, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages (all-90%), while the amounts of legumes and seeds were unchanged. On average, the mathematically optimized NutriHealthGHGE diet showed a smaller deviation from the average Danish diet compared to the Danish plant-rich diet (38% vs. 169%, respectively).ConclusionThe final optimized diet presented in this study represents an alternative way of composing a nutritionally adequate and healthy diet that has the same estimated GHGE as a diet consistent with the climate-friendly FBDGs in Denmark. As this optimized diet may be more acceptable for some consumers, it might help to facilitate the transition toward more healthy and sustainable diets in the Danish population.

Project description:Climate change has already been affecting the regional suitability of grapevines with significant advances in phenology being observed globally in the last few decades. This has significant implications for New Zealand, where the wine industry represents a major share of the horticultural industry revenue. We modeled key crop phenological stages to better understand temporal and spatial shifts in three important regions of New Zealand (Marlborough, Hawke's Bay, Central Otago) for three dominant cultivars (Merlot, Pinot noir, and Sauvignon blanc) and one potential new and later ripening cultivar (Grenache). Simulations show an overall advance in flowering, véraison, and sugar ripeness by mid-century with more pronounced advance by the end of the century. Results show the magnitude of changes depends on the combination of greenhouse gas emission pathway, grape cultivar, and region. By mid-century, in the Marlborough region for instance, the four cultivars would flower 3 to 7 days earlier and reach sugar ripeness 7 to 15 days earlier depending on the greenhouse gas emission pathway. For growers to maintain the same timing of key phenological stages would require shifting planting of cultivars to more Southern parts of the country or implement adaptation strategies. Results also show the compression of time between flowering and véraison for all three dominant cultivars is due to a proportionally greater advance in véraison, particularly for Merlot in the Hawke's Bay and Pinot noir in Central Otago. Cross-regional analysis also raises the likelihood of the different regional cultivars ripening within a smaller window of time, complicating harvesting schedules across the country. However, considering New Zealand primarily accommodates cool climate viticulture cultivars, our results suggest that late ripening cultivars or extended ripening window in cooler regions may be advantageous in the face of climate change. These insights can inform New Zealand winegrowers with climate change adaptation options for their cultivar choices.

Dataset Information

Healthy and Climate-Friendly Eating Patterns in the New Zealand Context.

Publications

Healthy and Climate-Friendly Eating Patterns in the New Zealand Context.

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