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A Western Dietary Pattern Has The Highest Environmental Footprints Among Lebanese Adults: Findings From A Cross Sectional Study Among Lebanese Adults
Author(s) -
Naja Farah,
Jomaa Lamis,
Itani Leila,
Zidek Jeremy,
Hwalla Nahla
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.651.1
Subject(s) - sustainability , mediterranean diet , mediterranean climate , greenhouse gas , agriculture , environmental health , logistic regression , unit (ring theory) , food group , odds , geography , environmental science , medicine , mathematics , ecology , mathematics education , archaeology , pathology , biology
Background The recently released Sustainable Development Goals call for sustainable food consumption. Dietary patterns and Food‐Based‐Dietary‐Guidelines are being revisited and studied in terms of their sustainability in addition to their health implications. In this study we aim to evaluate and compare the Environmental Foot Print (EFP) of dietary patterns, including the Western and the Lebanese‐Mediterranean, prevalent among Lebanese adults. Methods Dietary patterns previously derived in a sample of Lebanese adults (n=337) included: Western, Lebanese‐Mediterranean and High‐Protein. In this study, these patterns were examined for their EFP including soil erosion, water use, energy use, Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and economic cost. Metrics for these EFP were calculated using review of life cycle analyses (LCAs) on a functional unit of 1 kg of food consumed and analyzing the food supply chain from agriculture production to household consumption, including food waste. Whenever available, national and regional estimates were used. Retail food costs were obtained from cost of living statistics or listed prices at local grocery stores. Results Results of the multiple logistic regression showed that, compared to the Lebanese‐Mediterranean and the High‐Protein dietary patterns, a one‐unit increase in the previously derived Western pattern score led to highest odds of belonging to the third tertile of metrics for soil erosion (2.33 vs 1.56 and 1.38), water use (3.23 vs 1.26 and 1.73), GHG emissions (4.03 vs 1.78 and 2.81), and cost (3.51 vs 1.55 and 1.75). Reported odds are significant at p<0.05 . Older age (>40 years) and females had lower estimates of GHG emissions and cost, while a university education level had lower values for water and energy use. Smokers had significantly higher values for the five EFP metrics. Conclusions Findings of this study showed that, of dietary patterns prevalent among Lebanese adults, the Western had the highest EFP. Coupled to our earlier findings of this pattern's deleterious effects on obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, this study lends evidence for the notion that what is unhealthy for people may also be unhealthy for ecosystems and underscores the importance to develop evidence‐based interventions to halt the nutrition transition which Lebanon and other countries around the globe are witnessing. Support or Funding Information None