Journal Article

DKFZ-2025-02554

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png Synergies between food biodiversity, processing levels, and the EAT-Lancet diet for nutrient adequacy and environmental sustainability: a multiobjective optimization using the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort

Berden, J. ; Hanley-Cook, G. T. ; Chimera, B. ; Cakmak, E. K. ; Nicolas, G. ; Baudry, J. ; Srour, B. ; Kesse-Guyot, E. ; Berlivet, J. ; Touvier, M. ; Deschasaux-Tanguy, M. ; Colizzi, C. ; Marques, C. ; Millett, C. ; Jannasch, F. ; Skeie, G. ; Dansero, L. ; Schulze, M. B. ; Katzke, V.DKFZ* ; van der Schouw, Y. T. ; Jimenez Zabala, A. M. ; Tjønneland, A. ; Kyrø, C. ; Dahm, C. C. ; Agnoli, C. ; Ibsen, D. B. ; Weiderpass, E. ; Pasanisi, F. ; Severi, G. ; Gómez, J.-H. ; Murray, K. ; Guevara, M. ; Sanchez, M.-J. ; Frenoy, P. ; Zamora-Ros, R. ; Tumino, R. ; Kaaks, R.DKFZ* ; Pala, V. ; Vineis, P. ; Ferrari, P. ; Huybrechts, I. ; Lachat, C.

2025
Elsevier Amsterdam

Abstract: Diets have become increasingly monotonous and high in ultra-processed foods (UPFs), contributing to poor health outcomes and environmental degradation. While sustainable diets, food biodiversity, and food processing levels have each been linked to nutritional and environmental outcomes, their combined impact has not been assessed.To examine whether food biodiversity, intakes of UPFs, and adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet can simultaneously optimize nutrient adequacy while reducing environmental impacts.Using data from 368,733 adults in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, we assessed associations and interactions between dietary species richness (DSR; disaggregated into DSRPlant and DSRAnimal), food processing levels (Nova categories; %g/day), and adherence to EAT-Lancet recommendations (Healthy Reference Diet (HRD) score; 0-140 points) with the Probability of Adequate Nutrient Intake Diet (PANDiet) score, dietary greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe; kg CO2-eq/day), and land use (m2/day). Regression models subsequently informed multi-objective optimization to identify optimal dietary patterns balancing nutritional and environmental outcomes.Compared to observed diets, optimal diets showed on average: HRD score increased by 13.91 (95% CI: 13.89, 13.93) points; DSRPlant by 1.36 (1.35, 1.37) species, while 12.44 (12.40, 12.49) percentage points substitution of UPFs with unprocessed or minimally processed foods was observed. Correspondingly, on average, PANDiet score increased by 4.12 (4.10, 4.14) percentage points, while GHGe and land use reduced by 1.07 (1.05, 1.09) kg CO2-eq/day and 1.43 (1.41, 1.45) m2/day, respectively.Diets that adhere to the EAT-Lancet diet, are more biodiverse, and prioritize unprocessed and minimally processed foods over UPFs, have the potential to synergistically enhance nutrient adequacy while minimizing environmental impacts. These findings suggest that moderate improvements across multiple dietary dimensions simultaneously can achieve meaningful gains in both nutritional adequacy and environmental sustainability.

Keyword(s): EAT-Lancet Diet ; Environmental Sustainability ; Food Biodiversity ; Multi-Objective Optimization ; Nutrient Adequacy ; Ultra-Processed Foods

Note: epub

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Contributing Institute(s):

1. Epidemiologie von Krebs (C020)

Research Program(s):

1. 313 - Krebsrisikofaktoren und Prävention (POF4-313) (POF4-313)

Appears in the scientific report 2025

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Database coverage:
; BIOSIS Previews ; Biological Abstracts ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; Current Contents - Clinical Medicine ; Current Contents - Life Sciences ; Essential Science Indicators ; IF >= 5 ; JCR ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Web of Science Core Collection

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