Knowledge Tree
sustainable healthy diets
Also known as: SHD, SHDs, healthy and sustainable diets, healthier and more sustainable diets, sustainability of diets, sustainable healthy foods, sustainable diets, sustainable optimal diets
synthesized from dimensionsSustainable healthy diets are multifaceted nutritional patterns designed to simultaneously promote individual health and well-being while minimizing environmental impact. The concept, which gained formal recognition through the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO), posits that a truly sustainable diet must be nutritionally adequate, safe, and protective of biodiversity, while remaining culturally acceptable, equitable, and economically affordable FAO/WHO definition. This framework has evolved from early definitions in the 1980s to a comprehensive model encompassing four primary dimensions: human health, environmental sustainability, economic outcomes, and social equity four dimensions of sustainable diets.
The core identity of these diets lies in their ability to balance competing global priorities. By integrating these four dimensions, the framework seeks to address systemic challenges such as undernutrition, obesity, and climate change United Nations encourages governments. While environmental and health indicators—such as toxicity, eutrophication, and nutritional adequacy—are frequently prioritized in research, the inclusion of sociocultural and economic factors is essential to ensure that dietary recommendations are practical and inclusive for diverse populations interventions regarding Sustainable Healthy.
Despite the conceptual clarity of these four pillars, the field faces significant challenges regarding operationalization and measurement. There is currently no global harmonization of metrics, and a substantial portion of research fails to assess all three key domains (health, environment, and sociocultural) simultaneously systematic review of thirteen. This lack of standardized indicators complicates the ability of policymakers to compare data across different regions and timeframes lack of common measures. Furthermore, research is heavily biased toward high-income countries, leaving a critical gap in understanding how these diets can be implemented in low-income contexts where diverse, healthy foods are often prohibitively expensive compared to cheap staples low-income challenges.
To bridge these gaps, organizations like the FAO are developing compendiums of indicators to serve as decision-support tools FAO is developing a. These efforts aim to operationalize the 16 guiding principles of sustainable healthy diets, ensuring that progress can be monitored at both national and sub-national levels operationalizing the 16 guiding. Current research strategies emphasize systemic approaches, including full-cost accounting, income support, and food policy integration, to move beyond theoretical models toward actionable, real-world implementation food-system strategies.
Ultimately, the significance of sustainable healthy diets lies in their potential to transform food systems to be more resilient and equitable. While the field continues to grapple with the trade-offs between the complexity of multidimensional assessment and the need for simple, actionable metrics indicator tradeoffs, the consensus remains that dietary transformation is a prerequisite for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Future progress depends on the development of robust, context-specific indicators that account for local cultural, economic, and geographic realities.
Model Perspectives (5)
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Sustainable healthy diets are broadly conceptualized as dietary patterns that simultaneously promote human health and well-being while minimizing environmental impact [40, 54, 56]. The concept emerged in the 1980s [16, 33] and gained a formal definition from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2010, which describes these diets as supporting human health and having low environmental impact [26, 27]. More recently, the framework has expanded to include socioeconomic fairness [48] and four major dimensions: planetary health, human health, economic outcomes, and social outcomes [19].
Despite this broad outline, research indicates a lack of consensus on standardized metrics [21, 35]. A scoping review identified that 58% of articles did not explicitly define the term [3], and less than 25% of studies assessed sustainability across the three key domains—health, environmental, and sociocultural—simultaneously [7]. Current research shows a significant bias toward environmental and health indicators, with 92% and 72% of articles in one review assessing these respective areas [8, 9], while sociocultural aspects are frequently neglected [4]. When sociocultural factors are included, they are often measured by the "minimal departure" from current diets [14] or metrics such as cost and cultural acceptability [11].
Experts suggest that the current proliferation of unique indicators [34] challenges stakeholders in selecting appropriate measures [31], with some calling for "measures registries" to provide better decision-support [32, 35]. Furthermore, there is no single metric that captures the FAO and World Health Organization's (WHO) recommended dimensions of food processing, dietary diversity, and animal product intake [36, 37]. The field also faces geographic and socioeconomic biases, as 74% of studies are conducted in high-income countries [30], leading to a notable lack of research regarding undernutrition or nutrient-deficiency diseases [10]. Addressing these gaps, researchers are currently exploring behavior change interventions [49, 51] and systemic approaches that integrate food policy with the Sustainable Development Goals [47].
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Sustainable Healthy Diets (SHDs) are defined as multifaceted nutritional approaches that address four primary dimensions: health, environment, society, and economics four dimensions of sustainable diets, four major dimensions of sustainable. According to Burlingame and Dernini (2012), these diets must be nutritionally adequate, safe, and protective of biodiversity while remaining culturally acceptable and economically affordable Burlingame and Dernini (2012) defined. The United Nations promotes these diets to tackle global challenges such as undernutrition, obesity, and climate change United Nations encourages governments.
Despite their importance, research into SHDs faces significant barriers. A scoping review published in *Frontiers in Nutrition* highlights that there is no global harmonization in how these diets are measured systematic review of thirteen. Current literature shows a disproportionate focus on environmental and health outcomes, while sociocultural and economic indicators—such as food affordability and worker well-being—are frequently overlooked interventions regarding Sustainable Healthy, reviewed literature on healthy. This lack of standardized metrics hinders the ability of policy makers and researchers to compare data across different regions and timeframes lack of common measures.
To address these gaps, organizations like the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are working to develop a compendium of indicators to serve as a decision-support tool FAO is developing a. Effective operationalization of the 16 guiding principles of SHDs requires that these indicators be capable of monitoring progress at both national and sub-national levels operationalizing the 16 guiding, quantifiable indicators for sustainable.
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Sustainable healthy diets are defined by the FAO and WHO definition as dietary patterns that promote individual health and well-being, possess low environmental impact, remain culturally acceptable, and are accessible, affordable, and equitable. Despite these guiding principles, no global region met recommendations for such diets as of 2021.
Implementation faces significant barriers, particularly in low-income settings where diverse healthy foods are often unaffordable, leading to reliance on cheaper staples like roots and grains. To address these systemic challenges, the Global Nutrition Report advocates for strategies including income support and socioeconomic development. Research indicates that dietary quality is influenced by localized factors, including gender and geographic territory, with some studies—such as the SysOrg survey—finding varied adherence to sustainable diets across different European case study territories. Furthermore, academic assessments, such as those by Sobhani et al., seek to compare current intakes against established dietary guidelines, while other scholars like del Valle M. et al. focus on how food governance can facilitate these shifts.
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Sustainable healthy diets, as defined by the FAO/WHO definition from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Health Organisation (WHO), promote all dimensions of individual health and wellbeing with low environmental pressure and impact, while being accessible, affordable, safe, equitable, and culturally acceptable. A scoping review published in Frontiers in Nutrition examines metrics and gaps, compiling indicators from peer-reviewed literature between March and August 2020 indicator compilation period to map definitions and measurements since 2010, the year following Burlingame and Dernini (2012)'s foundational definition literature search start. This review highlights tradeoffs in indicator selection between completeness and simplicity indicator tradeoffs, with environmental outcomes like toxicity, eutrophication, and biodiversity commonly studied environmental outcomes studied; food waste indicators span environmental, health, sociocultural, and economic aspects food waste indicators. The SysOrg survey (Springer) found statistically significant links to more sustainable and healthier diets in Warsaw Warsaw dietary association and Copenhagen compared to other territories Copenhagen/Warsaw superiority, with gender influencing quality in North Hessia and Warsaw gender diet influence. Globally, no region met recommendations as of 2021 per the Global Nutrition Report, with adoption challenging in low-income areas due to costly diverse foods versus cheap staples low-income challenges; strategies include full costing, income support, and development food-system strategies. Prior reviews like Jones et al. (2016) and Eme et al. (2019) addressed measurements but overlooked definitions and measure limitations previous review gaps. FAO/WHO's 2019 guiding principles FAO/WHO principles and studies like Sobhani et al. on Iranian diets Iranian diets assessment underscore multidimensional evaluation across health, environment, affordability, and equity.
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Sustainable healthy diets integrate health, environmental sustainability, affordability, and equity, as explored in a scoping review published in Frontiers in Nutrition's 'Nutrition and Sustainable Diets' section, which compiles and categorizes indicators from peer-reviewed literature gathered between March and August 2020 article submission and acceptance journal receipt and acceptance indicator compilation. This review uses a modified scoping design per Peters et al. (2015) to map heterogeneous metrics scoping review design. Key prior works include Jones et al.'s (2016) systematic review of sustainable diet measurements in Advances in Nutrition Jones et al. systematic review, Eme et al.'s (2019) review of assessment methodologies and harmonized indicators Eme et al. review, and FAO/CIHEAM's 2012 guidelines for Mediterranean diets FAO/CIHEAM guidelines. Studies apply optimization for diets meeting nutritional needs with low environmental impact, as in Röös et al. (2015) combining metrics Röös et al. methods, Perignon et al. (2019) in Tunisia Perignon optimization, and Wilson et al. (2019) reviewing optimizations Wilson optimization review. Sociocultural, economic, and social domains are addressed by Comerford et al. (2020) workshop proceedings Comerford social domains and Burlingame and Dernini (2012) FAO symposium Burlingame FAO directions. Indicator selection criteria per MacDonald (2013) support stakeholder processes indicator criteria.
Facts (130)
Sources
A Scoping Review of Indicators for Sustainable Healthy Diets frontiersin.org Jan 12, 2022 52 facts
claimThe authors of the scoping review conclude that the large number of unique indicators currently used in research creates challenges for stakeholders attempting to identify appropriate measures for sustainable healthy diets.
referenceRöös et al. (2015) published 'Evaluating the sustainability of diets–combining environmental and nutritional aspects' in Environmental Science & Policy, focusing on methods to combine environmental and nutritional metrics.
claimThe term "sustainable diets" was first introduced in the literature by Gussow and Clancy (1986), who argued for the importance of optimizing individual diets for both human health and the protection of natural resources.
referenceComerford et al. (2020) published the proceedings of a workshop focused on characterizing and defining the social and economic domains of sustainable diets.
perspectiveThe Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is committed to accelerating progress on achieving sustainable healthy diets by coordinating research and collaboratively building an evidence base.
measurementNinety-five articles, representing 92% of the sample in the scoping review, assessed the sustainability of diets using environmental indicators.
referenceA 2019 review by Eme et al. examined methodologies for assessing sustainable diets and explored the potential for developing harmonized indicators.
claimThe start date for the literature search (January 2010) was chosen based on the year the definition of sustainable diets was published by Burlingame and Dernini (2012).
claimThe 16 guiding principles of sustainable healthy diets are intended to provide flexible guidance to countries for policy and program implementation while accounting for different local contexts.
claimCultural acceptability in the context of sustainable healthy diets is most frequently measured as a minimal departure from the current diet.
measurementIn a scoping review of indicators for sustainable healthy diets, 32% of the articles assessed diet sustainability using sociocultural indicators.
referenceMeybeck and Gitz (2017) examined the integration of sustainable diets within sustainable food systems in the article 'Sustainable diets within sustainable food systems' published in Proceedings of the Nutrition Society.
quoteBurlingame and Dernini (2012) defined sustainable diets as diets that are protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable, and nutritionally adequate, safe, and healthy, while optimizing natural and human resources.
claimThe selection of indicators for measuring the sustainability of diets involves inherent tradeoffs between completeness and simplicity.
claimClear indicators and methods for measuring sustainable healthy diets are required to build an evidence base for guidelines and policies and to monitor progress toward national and subnational targets.
claimThe primary barriers to accelerating progress toward sustainable healthy diets include a persistent geographical imbalance in research, a tendency to overlook sociocultural aspects, and a lack of common definitions and metrics used in research.
claimQuantifiable indicators for sustainable healthy diets are critical for understanding current trends, setting targets, and monitoring progress at national and sub-national levels.
claimThe authors of the scoping review suggest that measures registries could provide the necessary decision-support for stakeholders to select appropriate indicators for sustainable healthy diets.
claimThe scoping review mapped indicators used to assess the sustainability of diets across the 103 included articles to three main aspects: health, environmental, and sociocultural.
claimIn the scoping review, 14 articles (14% of the sample) offered alternative definitions of sustainable diets, which often focused on health and environmental aspects while neglecting the sociocultural aspect.
claimResearch on the sustainability of diets shows a disproportional amount of focus on environmental and health aspects, with a high degree of heterogeneity in the indicators used across studies.
claimThe authors of the scoping review defined 'concepts' as the abstract phenomena or ideas being studied, and 'indicators' as the quantitative or qualitative measures used to communicate information about those phenomena or ideas.
measurementThe compilation and categorization of existing indicators of sustainable healthy diets reported in peer-reviewed literature were conducted between March and August 2020.
claimOperationalizing the 16 guiding principles of sustainable healthy diets requires that the values within the principles correspond to measures capable of analyzing trends, setting targets, and monitoring progress at national or subnational levels.
referenceThe study 'Healthy and sustainable diets that meet greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and are affordable for different income groups in the UK' was published in Public Health Nutrition in 2019.
referenceReynolds et al. (2019) authored research regarding sustainable diets, though the specific title is truncated in the source text.
referenceMonterrosa et al. (2020) investigated sociocultural influences on food choices and their implications for sustainable healthy diets in the article 'Sociocultural influences on food choices and implications for sustainable healthy diets' published in Food and Nutrition Bulletin.
referenceBurlingame and Dernini (2012) authored 'Sustainable Diets and Biodiversity Directions and Solutions for Policy, Research and Action', published by the FAO Headquarters in Rome.
referenceMayton et al. (2020) conceptualized sustainable diets in Vietnam by identifying minimum metrics and potential leverage points in the study 'Conceptualizing sustainable diets in Vietnam: minimum metrics and potential leverage points' published in Food Policy.
referenceLuckett B. G., DeClerck F. A., Fanzo J., Mundorf A. R., and Rose D. (2015) published 'Application of the Nutrition Functional Diversity indicator to assess food system contributions to dietary diversity and sustainable diets of Malawian households' in Public Health Nutrition.
claimThe Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is developing a compendium of indicators for sustainable healthy diets to serve as a decision-support tool for researchers, evaluators, and policy makers.
procedureThe scoping review mapped all identified indicators to one of three main aspects used to define sustainable healthy diets: health, environmental, and sociocultural aspects.
referencePerignon et al. (2019) conducted an optimization study to identify more sustainable diets in Tunisia that meet nutritional recommendations while reducing environmental impact in the article 'How to meet nutritional recommendations and reduce diet environmental impact in the Mediterranean region? An optimization study to identify more sustainable diets in Tunisia' published in Global Food Security.
procedureThe authors conducted a scoping review of empirical studies to describe how sustainable healthy diets are defined and measured in research literature, specifically addressing how they have been defined since 2010 and what range of indicators is currently in use.
measurementIn a scoping review of indicators for sustainable healthy diets, 75 articles (72% of the sample) assessed the health aspects of diets.
measurementIn a scoping review of indicators for sustainable healthy diets, 42% of the articles assessed diet sustainability using both health and environmental indicators.
referenceJones et al. (2016) conducted a systematic review of the measurement of sustainable diets.
measurementIn the scoping review, 60 articles (58% of the sample) did not explicitly define sustainable diets.
referenceThe authors utilized a modified scoping review design, as described by Peters et al. (2015), to synthesize evidence on sustainable healthy diets because scoping reviews are effective for mapping and charting heterogeneous data sources.
measurementThe scoping review identified 59 sociocultural indicators for assessing the sustainability of diets, categorized into concepts including cultural acceptability (10), animal welfare (3), satisfaction (3), attitudes (1), food security (1), cost of diets (24), environmental costs (7), health costs (4), productivity costs (1), and other (5).
referenceKramer et al. (2017) investigated how to find healthy and sustainable diets with limited changes to decrease the overall environmental impact of the Dutch diet.
quoteA widely accepted definition of sustainable diets coined in 2010 states: "Sustainable diets are those diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to a healthy life for present and future generations."
measurementIn a scoping review of 103 articles, 28% of the studies referred to or cited the 2010 definition for 'sustainable diets'.
referenceThe criteria used to select indicators for sustainable healthy diets can (1) aid in the establishment of a shared process and vocabulary for stakeholders, (2) reinforce the linkage between indicators and the evaluation or research questions being addressed, and (3) help in the design, collection, storage, and retrieval of data linked to intended uses of findings, according to MacDonald (2013).
measurementIn a scoping review of indicators for sustainable healthy diets, less than 25% of the articles assessed diet sustainability across health, environmental, and sociocultural aspects.
claimPrevious literature reviews by Jones et al. (2016) and Eme et al. (2019) partially examined measurements of sustainable diets but failed to investigate how researchers defined the concept or report on the strengths and limitations of proposed measures.
claimThe lack of common measures for sustainable healthy diets makes it difficult for researchers, evaluators, and policy makers to compare study results across time and place.
claimFood waste indicators can be categorized as measures of the environmental aspect of sustainable healthy diets, but they may also illustrate phenomena related to food safety (health aspect), social norms and consumer attitudes, or economic constraints (sociocultural aspect).
measurementA scoping review of 103 empirical articles published between January 2010 and February 2020 found that 57.3% of these articles were published after 2017.
measurementIn a scoping review of 103 empirical articles regarding sustainable healthy diets, 74% of the studies were conducted in high-income countries.
measurementIn the scoping review, 29 articles (28% of the sample) referred to or cited the 2010 definition of sustainable diets.
referenceMason P. and Lang T. (2017) authored the book 'Sustainable Diets: How Ecological Nutrition Can Transform Consumption and the Food System,' published by Routledge in New York.
Measuring Adherence to Sustainable Healthy Diets - R Discovery discovery.researcher.life Dec 26, 2022 33 facts
claimIntegrating the relationships between complex food system policies and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into nutrition education programs is useful for promoting adherence to healthy and sustainable diets.
measurementThe pilot study on sustainable healthy diets began participant recruitment in October 2022 and expects final results by October 2023.
claimSustainable Healthy Diets (SHDs) encompass sociocultural, economic, and environmental components of nutrition and health.
claimEcologically, Sustainable Healthy Diets contribute to lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduced carbon and water footprints, and the reduction of food waste.
claimDecision-makers must harmonize multisectoral policies to ensure populations in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) have access to sustainable healthy diets to achieve a protein transition and food systems transformation by 2050.
claimThe content of the last 5 nutrition education interventions (NEI) conducted by the Local Health Agency integrated with Trieste University (ASUGI) was aligned with the principles of the European Farm to Fork Strategy linked to Sustainable Healthy Diets.
procedureThe pilot study on sustainable healthy diets collects quantitative data via self-reported questionnaires on weekly bursts and qualitative data via three individual semistructured interviews conducted before, at the end of the intervention, and at the end of the study.
claimSustainable healthy diets are defined as dietary patterns that promote all dimensions of individuals' health and well-being, have low environmental pressure and impact, are accessible, affordable, safe, and equitable, and are culturally acceptable.
claimThe scoping review concludes that there is a lack of common measures used in research regarding sustainable healthy diets, and suggests that measures registries could provide necessary decision-support for stakeholders.
procedureThe pilot study intervention for sustainable healthy diets involves sending text messages containing educational information on human health and environmental/socioeconomic effects of dietary choices, motivational messages, and links to recipes, alongside brief individualized web-based feedback sessions based on app-based assessments.
claimThe SUSDIET score is intended for use in research assessing the impact of diets on health and environmental sustainability outcomes among the general adult population, and for informing policy actions regarding sustainable healthy diets.
procedureA pilot study on behavior change interventions for sustainable healthy diets will utilize a series of ABA n-of-1 trials over one year, consisting of a 2-week baseline evaluation (A phase), a 22-week intervention (B phase), and a 24-week postintervention follow-up (second A phase).
procedurePhysical, economic, and policy components of the food environment can be modified to promote sustainable healthy diets, such as improving the proximity of nutritious food outlets in low-income communities, implementing food fortification, reducing supply chain food loss, and providing commodity-specific vouchers for fruits, vegetables, and legumes.
claimBiologically, Sustainable Healthy Diets are associated with a reduced risk of non-communicable diseases, greater longevity, and adequate nutrient intake.
claimA training programme (TP) for health professionals (HP) was designed to change and evaluate food pattern behaviour (FPB) to adhere to Sustainable Healthy Diets (SHD), incorporating a systemic view on nutritional value, food chain sustainability, and urban food environments.
claimThe Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization recommend that sustainable healthy diets be measured across three key dimensions: food processing, dietary diversity, and the intake of animal products.
claimSustainable healthy diets are defined as healthy diets with low environmental impact and socioeconomic fairness.
claimCulturally, Sustainable Healthy Diets reflect moral values related to animal welfare, belief systems, veganism, and religious practices.
claimThe four dimensions of sustainable diets are health, society, economics, and the environment.
claimSustainable Healthy Diets are defined as diets that improve individual health while simultaneously reducing environmental pressures.
measurementA systematic review of thirteen intervention studies found that indicator definitions and measuring methods for Sustainable Healthy Diets (SHDs) were not harmonized across research efforts.
claimNo existing dietary metric simultaneously captures the three key dimensions of sustainable healthy diets (food processing, dietary diversity, and intake of animal products) as recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
measurementA literature review conducted in March–April 2024 identified 2,443 articles on Sustainable Healthy Diets, of which 332 were duplicates, 1,937 were excluded based on inclusion criteria, and 174 were selected for full-text assessment.
claimRecent research articles utilizing a systems approach to food systems include studies on local sustainability modeling, policy activities for healthy and sustainable diets, food-related policymaking processes, low fruit and vegetable intake in children, and livestock-derived food systems.
claimMetabolic phenotyping is envisioned as an integral element for prescribing personalized nutrition advice for sustainable healthy diets in the future.
measurementInterventions regarding Sustainable Healthy Diets (SHDs) predominantly address food waste and diet quality, while social and economic indicators are underrepresented.
claimThe United Nations encourages governments to promote sustainable healthy diets to address undernutrition, obesity, and climate change.
measurementResearchers have utilized a wide variety of unique indicators to assess sustainable healthy diets, specifically 82 indicators for health, 117 for environmental aspects, and 43 for sociocultural aspects.
claimThe pilot study on sustainable healthy diets plans to enroll 21 participants, with 7 participants each from low, middle, and high socioeconomic status groups.
claimGovernments and the private sector bear significant responsibility for ensuring equitable access to sustainable healthy diets through actions like comprehensive marketing restrictions and the implementation of easy-to-understand front-of-pack nutrition labels.
claimCurrent food environments create inequities where sustainable healthy foods are generally more accessible to individuals of higher socioeconomic status.
claimSustainable diets are defined as diets that should promote good health for both the planet and the individual.
procedureThe literature review on Sustainable Healthy Diets utilized the PECOS criteria and searched the MDPI, PubMed, Science Direct, and The Lancet Planetary Health databases for English-language articles published between 2010 and 2024.
Measurement of diets that are healthy, environmentally sustainable ... frontiersin.org 22 facts
claimThe scoping review article 'Measurement of diets that are healthy, environmentally sustainable, affordable, and equitable: A scoping review of metrics, findings, and research gaps' was submitted to the 'Nutrition and Sustainable Diets' section of the journal Frontiers in Nutrition.
measurementThe article 'Measurement of diets that are healthy, environmentally sustainable, affordable, and equitable: A scoping review of metrics, findings, and research gaps' was received by the journal Frontiers in Nutrition on December 16, 2022, and accepted on March 13, 2023.
referenceGazan et al. (2018) provided a narrative review on the use of mathematical optimization to explore sustainable diets in Advances in Nutrition.
claimThe four major dimensions of sustainable healthy diets are planetary health, human health, economic outcomes, and social outcomes, though integrating all four into studies of dietary change remains a significant challenge.
claimThe authors of the study note that the evidence base for sustainable diets remains incomplete and constantly evolving.
referenceComerford et al. (2020) published proceedings of a workshop on characterizing and defining the social and economic domains of sustainable diets in the journal Sustainability.
referenceSteenson and Buttriss (2021) examined necessary changes for healthier and more sustainable diets in high-income countries in Nutrition Bulletin.
claimThe article titled 'Measurement of diets that are healthy, environmentally sustainable, affordable, and equitable: A scoping review of metrics, findings, and research gaps' was published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition on April 3, 2023.
referenceJones et al. published 'A systematic review of the measurement of sustainable diets' in Advances in Nutrition in 2016.
measurementIn the sustainable diets literature, studies examine environmental outcomes including toxicity (n=9, 6.8%), energy outcomes (n=7, 5.3%), eutrophication (n=7, 5.3%), air pollution (n=6, 4.5%), nitrogen or phosphorus-related outcomes (n=6, 4.5%), acidification (n=4, 3.0%), and biodiversity (n=2, 1.5%).
referenceAldaya et al. published 'Indicators and recommendations for assessing sustainable healthy diets' in the journal Foods in 2021.
quoteThe Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) defined sustainable diets in 2010 as “ones that support human health, have low environmental...
referenceNicholls and Drewnowski (2021) explored sociocultural indicators of sustainable healthy diets in the journal Sustainability.
claimThe affordability of food was explicitly mentioned as a core aspect of sustainable diets as early as 2012, though food price, affordability of recommended dietary patterns, and the distributional impacts of dietary shifts received limited analytical attention until recently.
referenceBurlingame and Dernini (2012) provided directions and solutions for policy, research, and action regarding sustainable diets and biodiversity in the proceedings of the International Scientific Symposium Biodiversity and Sustainable Diets United Against Hunger.
claimBéné highlighted that the datasets currently available for studying sustainable diets are generally incomplete, fragmented, and static.
referenceCuri-Quinto et al. (2022) analyzed the sustainability of diets in Mexico, specifically examining diet quality, environmental footprint, diet cost, and sociodemographic factors.
referenceEme et al. published 'Review of methodologies for assessing sustainable diets and potential for development of harmonised indicators' in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) in 2019.
referenceWilson et al. (2019) reviewed the results of recent mathematical optimization studies regarding the achievement of healthy and sustainable diets.
quoteJones et al. argued more than half a decade ago that a lack of clear metrics and a shared approach to measuring the multiple components of sustainable diets has hindered progress toward generating the evidence needed.
claimThe reviewed literature on healthy and sustainable diets lacks outcomes focused explicitly on the well-being of workers or animals.
claimThe body of work on sustainable diets lacks studies related to nutrient-deficiency diseases or states of undernutrition, reflecting a bias towards high-income populations.
A Consensus Proposal for Nutritional Indicators to Assess ... - Frontiers frontiersin.org 5 facts
claimThe notion of 'sustainable diets' emerged in the early 1980s to recommend dietary patterns that are healthier for both the environment and consumers.
referenceThe FAO/CIHEAM published guidelines in 2012 titled 'Towards the Development of Guidelines for Improving the Sustainability of Diets and Food Consumption Patterns in the Mediterranean Area'.
referenceDernini, Meybeck, Burlingame, Gitz, Lacirignola, Debs, and others published 'Developing a methodological approach for assessing the sustainability of diets: the Mediterranean diet as a case study' in the journal New Medit in 2013.
claimThe concept of sustainable diets posits that sustainable consumption acts as a driver for sustainable production, aiming to transform food systems toward patterns that reduce environmental pressures.
claimInterest in sustainable diets has been revived in the last decade due to a growing body of scientific evidence indicating that current dietary trends are unsustainable.
Sustainable and healthy diet index (SHDI) unveils regional ... link.springer.com Sep 11, 2025 5 facts
measurementIn the SysOrg survey, respondents in Warsaw showed a statistically significant association (p < 0.05) between their dietary choices and more sustainable and healthier diets, whereas no such associations were observed in the other Case Study Territories (CSTs).
referenceThe document 'Sustainable healthy diets - Guiding Principles' was published by the FAO and WHO in Rome in 2019.
claimRespondents in Copenhagen and Warsaw demonstrate more sustainable and healthier diets compared to respondents in the other Case Study Territories (CSTs) included in the SysOrg survey.
measurementGender significantly influenced diet quality in two CSTs (p < 0.001), with males having better diets in North Hessia and females having healthier and more sustainable diets in Warsaw.
quoteThe United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) define sustainable healthy diets as those that cover “all dimensions of an individual´s health and wellbeing, have low environmental pressure and impact; are accessible, affordable, safe and equitable; and are culturally acceptable”.
Health and environmental impacts of diets worldwide globalnutritionreport.org 3 facts
claimNo region in the world met the recommendations for healthy and sustainable diets as of 2021.
claimAdopting healthy and sustainable diets is challenging in low-income contexts because these diets lack the diverse set of expensive healthy foods, while local diets are dominated by low-cost roots and grains.
perspectiveThe Global Nutrition Report suggests that food-system strategies to make healthy and sustainable diets affordable for all should include full costing approaches, income support, and socioeconomic development.
Editorial: Local, traditional and indigenous food systems in the 21st ... frontiersin.org 2 facts
claimSobhani et al. assessed and compared the sustainability dimensions of typical Iranian dietary intakes against sustainable optimal diets based on Iranian, Mediterranean, and vegetarian food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs).
referencedel Valle M. et al. conducted a literature review to answer the question: 'How can food governance transform food systems to ensure better access to sustainable diets?'
Unknown source 2 facts
claimThe Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) established a formal definition for sustainable diets in 2010.
claimSustainable healthy diets are defined by four major dimensions: planetary health, human health, economic outcomes, and social outcomes, which have been agreed upon in broad outline.
Scoping review of sustainable diets research reveals a thematic and ... iopscience.iop.org Oct 25, 2024 2 facts
Review Measuring Adherence to Sustainable Healthy Diets sciencedirect.com 1 fact
claimThe scoping review titled 'Review Measuring Adherence to Sustainable Healthy Diets' aimed to explore how principles of sustainable healthy diets are considered in dietary metrics used worldwide.
Indicators and Recommendations for Assessing Sustainable ... - MDPI mdpi.com 1 fact
referenceThe review titled 'Indicators and Recommendations for Assessing Sustainable ... - MDPI' analyzes indicators and approaches to 'sustainable healthy diets' published in the literature.
Dietary Guidelines and Quality - Principles of Nutritional Assessment nutritionalassessment.org 1 fact
referenceThe World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) articulated guiding principles for sustainable healthy diets in 2019.
How do the indices based on the EAT-Lancet recommendations ... medrxiv.org May 14, 2024 1 fact
claimMeasuring adherence to EAT-Lancet recommendations for healthy and sustainable diets is challenging due to a lack of consensus on standardized metrics and the use of diverse methods.