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Can Diets Be Healthy, Sustainable, and Equitable?
Jessica Fanzo1,2,3, Claire Davis4
1Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. Jfanzo1@jhu.edu.
Current Obesity Reports
|October 27, 2019
Summary
Global diets are increasingly unhealthy, unsustainable, and inequitable, posing significant risks to human health and planetary well-being. Urgent, multi-pronged interventions are essential to improve both individual and environmental health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Global nutrition science
- Environmental health
- Public health policy
Background:
- Dietary patterns are a major contributor to the global burden of disease and mortality.
- Rising rates of non-communicable diseases and obesity present a significant public health challenge worldwide.
- Current food systems often operate in ways detrimental to planetary health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review global dietary intake and evolving dietary patterns.
- To analyze the associations between diet, human health, environmental sustainability, and equity.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of evidence on global dietary intake.
- Analysis of trends in dietary patterns over time.
- Examination of diet-health, diet-environment, and diet-equity associations.
Main Results:
- Diets are a significant risk factor for global disease and death.
- Unhealthy, unsustainable, and inequitable dietary patterns are widespread.
- Inequity in access to healthy diets is linked to social determinants.
Conclusions:
- Current dietary patterns negatively impact human health and the environment.
- Addressing the adverse effects of diet requires comprehensive, multi-faceted interventions.
- Improving diets is crucial for enhancing both human and planetary well-being.
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