Ultra-processed food intake and diet carbon and water footprints: a national study in Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/s1518-8787.2022056004551Keywords:
Diet, Ultra-Processed Food, Carbon Footprint, Water Footprint, BrazilAbstract
OBJECTIVE: To study the association between ultra-processed food consumption and carbon and water footprints of the Brazilian diet. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis on data collected in 2008-9 on a probabilistic sample of the Brazilian population aged ≥ 10 years (n = 32,886). Individual food intake was assessed using two food records. The environmental impact of individual diets was calculated by multiplying the amount of each food by coefficients that quantify the atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent (carbon footprint) and freshwater use in liters (water footprint), both per gram or milliliter of food. The two coefficients consider the food life cycle ‘from farm to fork.’ Crude and adjusted linear regression models and tests for linear trends assessed the association between the ultra-processed food contribution to total energy intake (quintiles) and the diet carbon and water footprints. Potential confounders included age, sex, education, income, and region. Total energy intake was assessed as a potential mediation variable. RESULTS: In the crude models, the dietary contribution of ultra-processed foods was linearly associated with the carbon and water footprints of the Brazilian diet. After adjustment for potential confounders, the association remained significant only regarding the diet water footprint, which increased by 10.1% between the lowest and highest quintile of the contribution of ultra-processed foods. Additional adjustment for total energy intake eliminated this association indicating that the dietary contribution of ultra-processed foods increases the diet water footprint by increasing energy intake. CONCLUSIONS: The negative impact of ultra-processed foods on the diet water footprint, shown for the first time in this study, adds to the negative impacts of these foods, already demonstrated regarding dietary nutrient profiles and the risk for several chronic non-communicable diseases. This reinforces the recommendation to avoid ultra-processed foods made in the official Brazilian Dietary Guidelines and increasingly in dietary guidelines of other countries.
References
Béné C, Prager SD, Achicanoy HAE, Alvarez Toro P, Lamotte L, Bonilla Cedrez C, et al. Understanding food systems drivers: a critical review of the literature. Glob Food Sec. 2019;23(4):149-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2019.04.009
Monteiro CA, Moubarac JC, Cannon G, Ng SW, Popkin B. Ultra-processed products are becoming dominant in the global food system. Obes Rev. 2013;14 Suppl 2:21-8. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12107
Martins APB, Levy RB, Claro RM, Moubarac JC, Monteiro CA. Increased contribution of ultra-processed food products in the Brazilian diet (1987-2009). Rev Saude Publica. 2013;47(4):656-65. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-8910.2013047004968
Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Moubarac JC, Levy RB, Louzada MLC, Jaime PC. The UN Decade of Nutrition, the NOVA food classification and the trouble with ultra-processing. Public Health Nutr. 2018;21(1):5-17. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980017000234
Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Levy RB, Moubarac JC, Louzada MLC, Rauber F, et al. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutr. 2019;22(5);936-41. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980018003762
Martini D, Godos J, Bonaccio M, Vitaglione P, Grosso G. Ultra-processed foods and nutritional dietary profile: a meta-analysis of nationally representative samples. Nutrients. 2021;13(10):3390. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13103390
Pagliai G, Dinu M, Madarena MP, Bonaccio M, Iacoviello L, Sofi F. Consumption of ultra-processed foods and health status: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Nutr. 2021;125(3):308-18. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114520002688
Delpino FM, Figueiredo LM, Bielemann RM, Silva BGC, Santos FS, Mintem GC, et al. Ultra-processed food and risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Int J Epidemiol 2021:dyab247. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyab247. Epub ahead of print.
Suksatan W, Moradi S, Naeini F, Bagheri R, Mohammadi H, Talebi S, et al. Ultra-processed food consumption and adult mortality risk: a systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis of 207,291 participants. Nutrients. 2022;14(1):174. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14010174
Ministry of Health (BR), Secretariat of Health Care, Primary Health Care Department. Dietary guidelines for the Brazilian population. Brasília, DF; 2014 [cited 2022 Jan 1]. Available from: https://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/dietary_guidelines_brazilian_population.pdf
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Food-based dietary guidelines. Regions. Rome (IT): FAO; c2022 [cited 2022 Jan 1]. Available from: https://www.fao.org/nutrition/education/food-dietary-guidelines/regions/en/
Le Haut Conseil de la Santé Publique (FR). Avis: relatif aux objectifs de Santé Publique quantifiés pour la Politique Nutritionnelle de Santé Publique (PNNS) 2018-2022. Paris (FR): HCSP; 2018 [cited 2022 Jan 1]. Available from: https://www.hcsp.fr/Explore.cgi/Telecharger?NomFichier=hcspa20180209_avisrelaauxobjequanpourlapolinut.pdf
Ministry of Health (IL). Nutritional recommendations. Jerusalem (IL); 2019 [cited 2022 Jan 1]. Available from: https://www.health.gov.il/PublicationsFiles/dietary%20guidelines%20EN.pdf
Ministry of Health (MY). Malaysian dietary guidelines. Kuala Lampur (MY): National Coordinating Committee on Food and Nutrition; 2020 [cited 2022 Jan 1]. Available from: https://www.moh.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/227
Fardet A, Rock E. Ultra-processed foods and food system sustainability: what are the links? Sustainability. 2020;12(15):6280. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156280
Seferidi P, Scrinis G, Huybrechts I, Woods J, Vineis P, Millett C. The neglected environmental impacts of ultra-processed foods. Lancet Planet Health. 2020;4(10):e437-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30177-7
Schmidt Rivera XC, Espinoza Orias N, Azapagic A. Life cycle environmental impacts of convenience food: comparison of ready and home-made meals. J. Clean Prod. 2014;73:294-309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.01.008
Hadjikakou M. Trimming the excess: environmental impacts of discretionary food consumption in Australia. Ecol Econ. 2017;131:119-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.08.006
Silva JT, Garzillo JMF, Rauber F, Kluczkovski A, Rivera XS, Cruz GL, et al. Greenhouse gas emissions, water footprint, and ecological footprint of food purchases according to their degree of processing in Brazilian metropolitan areas: a time-series study from 1987 to 2018. Lancet Planet Health. 2021;5(11): E775-85. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00254-0
Garzillo JMF, Machado PP, Leite FHM, Steele EM, Poli VFS, Louzada MLC, et al. Carbon footprint of the Brazilian diet. Rev Saude Publica. 2021;55:90. https://doi.org/10.11606/s1518-8787.2021055003614
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, Diretoria de Pesquisas, Coordenação de Trabalho e Rendimento. Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares 2008-2009: análise do consumo alimentar pessoal no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2011 [cited 2022 Jan 1]. Available from: https://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/visualizacao/livros/liv50063.pdf
Garzillo JMF, Machado PP, Louzada MLC, Levy RB, Monteiro, CA. Footprints of foods and culinary preparations consumed in Brazil. Morimura GS, translator. São Paulo, SP: Faculdade de Saúde Pública da USP; 2019 [cited 2022 Jan 1]. Available from: http://www.livrosabertos.sibi.usp.br/portaldelivrosUSP/catalog/view/442/394/1603
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, Diretoria de Pesquisas, Coordenação de Trabalho e Rendimento. Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares 2008-2009: tabela de medidas referidas para os alimentos consumidos no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2011 [cited 2022 Jan 1]. https://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/visualizacao/livros/liv50000.pdf
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, Diretoria de Pesquisas, Coordenação de Trabalho e Rendimento. Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares 2008-2009: tabelas de composição nutricional dos alimentos consumidos no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2011 [cited 2022 Jan 1]. Available from: https://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/visualizacao/livros/liv50002.pdf
Brown J. The truth about processed foods' environmental impact. BBC Future. 17 Jun 2021 [cited 2022 Jan 1]; Section Beyond Natural: Food. Available from: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210617-the-truth-about-processed-foods-environmental-impact
Louzada MLC, Ricardo CZ, Martinez-Steele E, Levy RB, Cannon G, Monteiro CA. The share of ultra-processed foods determines the overall nutritional quality of diets in Brazil. Public Health Nutr. 2018;21(1):94-102. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980017001434
Louzada MLC, Baraldi GL, Martinez-Steele E, Martins AP, Canella DS, Moubarac JC, et al. Consumption of ultra-processed foods and obesity in Brazilian adolescents and adults. Prev Med. 2015;81:9-15.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.07.018
Canhada SL, Luft VC, Giatti L, Duncan BB, Chor D, Fonseca MJM, et al. Ultra-processed foods, incident overweight and obesity, and longitudinal changes in weight and waist circumference: the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). Public Health Nutr. 2020;23(6):1076-86. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980019002854
Scaranni POS, Cardoso LO, Chor D, Melo ECP, Matos SMA, Giatti L, et al. Ultra-processed foods, changes in blood pressure and incidence of hypertension: the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). Public Health Nutr. 2021;24(11):3352-60. https://doi.org/10.1017/S136898002100094X
Rauber F, Campagnolo PDB, Hoffman DJ, Vitolo MR. Consumption of ultra-processed food products and its effects on children’s lipid profiles: a longitudinal study. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2015;25(1):116-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2014.08.001
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Josefa Maria Fellegger Garzillo, Vanessa Fadanelli Schoenardie Poli, Fernanda Helena Marrocos Leite, Euridice Martinez Steele, Priscila Pereira Machado, Maria Laura da Costa Louzada, Renata Bertazzi Levy, Carlos Augusto Monteiro
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
