Encompassing health and nutrition with the adherence to the environmentally sustainable New Nordic Diet in Southern Europe

Abstract

The partnership for sustainable and healthy food is a challenge shared by governments, food industry, environmental science, and the health service. At the European level, the application of policies based on the Mediterranean-style eating pattern is recommended. In this regard, attention is being paid to the New Nordic Diet (NND), which shares many similarities with the Mediterranean one but comprises typical foods from Nordic countries. Therefore, it could be transferred to anywhere in the world, including Spain, where it would coexist with the recommendations of the Mediterranean Diet (MD) and the southern European Atlantic Diet (SEAD). The main objective of this study is to propose the modelling of the health, economic, environmental and nutritional indicators of the southern version of NND (SNND) and to compare, when possible, the results with those of the alternatives. The environmental metrics for SNND, carbon footprint (CF) and water footprint (WF), were estimated at 3.58 kg CO2·person−1·day−1 and 3528 L·person-1·day-1 respectively, a slightly worse environmental profile than for MD. In relation to economic metrics, the updated cost index to 2019 was 4.30 €·person−1·day−1, similar to MD and lower than for SEAD. The overall dietary quality score was 126, a higher result than the baseline (100), but worse than those identified for SEAD and MD. In terms of health outcomes, NND showed benefits that reduce non-communicable diseases such as the risks of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) by 31%, colorectal cancer (CRCA) by 35% and cardiovascular disease (CVD) by 7%. Compliance with the NND was also associated with a weight loss of 1.83 kg per person following the diet. Epidemiological evidence supported greater weight loss when following the NND, but greater reductions in the CVD risk when adhering to MD. The dissemination through educational campaigns of these recommended dietary patterns and the incorporation in the dietary guidelines of simple indicators of nutritional quality, environmental impacts and health, easily understood by a wide audience, is one of the most important challenges of public and environmental health