Dietary Environmental Footprints and Their Association with Socioeconomic Factors and Food Purchase Practices: BRAZUCA Natal Study
The analysis of dietary environmental impacts has proven to be an important tool for guiding the adoption of healthier and more sustainable diets. This study aimed to estimate the dietary carbon (CF), water (WF), and ecological (EF) footprints of residents in the city of Natal, Brazil; the study als...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Foods |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/11/23/3842 |
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| author | Maria Hatjiathanassiadou Camila Valdejane Silva de Souza Diôgo Vale Natalie Marinho Dantas Yasmim Bezerra Batista Dirce Maria Lobo Marchioni Severina Carla Vieira Cunha Lima Clélia de Oliveira Lyra Priscilla Moura Rolim Larissa Mont’Alverne Jucá Seabra |
| author_facet | Maria Hatjiathanassiadou Camila Valdejane Silva de Souza Diôgo Vale Natalie Marinho Dantas Yasmim Bezerra Batista Dirce Maria Lobo Marchioni Severina Carla Vieira Cunha Lima Clélia de Oliveira Lyra Priscilla Moura Rolim Larissa Mont’Alverne Jucá Seabra |
| author_sort | Maria Hatjiathanassiadou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The analysis of dietary environmental impacts has proven to be an important tool for guiding the adoption of healthier and more sustainable diets. This study aimed to estimate the dietary carbon (CF), water (WF), and ecological (EF) footprints of residents in the city of Natal, Brazil; the study also aimed to verify their association with socioeconomic factors and food purchase practices. This is a cross-sectional study that used dietary data from 411 adults and elderlies, which was collected via a questionnaire that applied to the respondents. The results showed that the dietary CF was 1901.88 g CO<sub>2</sub> eq/day/1000 kcal, the WF was 1834.03 L/day/1000 kcal, and the EF was 14.29 m<sup>2</sup>/day/1000 kcal. The highest environmental footprint values showed an association (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05) with the factors of male sex, white ethnicity, and higher income and schooling, whereas the lowest environmental footprint values were associated with social vulnerability variables such as female sex, non-white ethnicity, and lower income and schooling (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05). Moreover, people with lower environmental footprints consumed less fast food, had fewer meals at snack bars, and used food delivery services less often than those with higher footprints. The foods that most contributed to the CFs and WFs were beef and chicken, while fish and beef contribute the most to the EFs. The data in the present study show that a diet with a lower environmental impact is not always equal to a sustainable diet. This relationship is paradoxical and relates to food justice, as people with lower environmental footprint values are the same ones with worse socioeconomic conditions. In this sense, is it essential to consider the influence of the social context when assessing dietary environmental impacts and when assessing actions that promote healthier and more sustainable diets. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:47:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1533c031b3174ab1b4fcdcc88b08fbe9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:47:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj.art-1533c031b3174ab1b4fcdcc88b08fbe92023-11-24T10:59:29ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582022-11-011123384210.3390/foods11233842Dietary Environmental Footprints and Their Association with Socioeconomic Factors and Food Purchase Practices: BRAZUCA Natal StudyMaria Hatjiathanassiadou0Camila Valdejane Silva de Souza1Diôgo Vale2Natalie Marinho Dantas3Yasmim Bezerra Batista4Dirce Maria Lobo Marchioni5Severina Carla Vieira Cunha Lima6Clélia de Oliveira Lyra7Priscilla Moura Rolim8Larissa Mont’Alverne Jucá Seabra9Postgraduate Program in Nutrition, Center for Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59078-970, RN, BrazilPostgraduate Program in Public Health, Center for Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59078-970, RN, BrazilFederal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59015-300, RN, BrazilDepartment of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-904, SP, BrazilDepartment of Nutrition, Center for Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59078-970, RN, BrazilDepartment of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-904, SP, BrazilPostgraduate Program in Nutrition, Center for Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59078-970, RN, BrazilPostgraduate Program in Nutrition, Center for Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59078-970, RN, BrazilPostgraduate Program in Nutrition, Center for Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59078-970, RN, BrazilPostgraduate Program in Nutrition, Center for Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59078-970, RN, BrazilThe analysis of dietary environmental impacts has proven to be an important tool for guiding the adoption of healthier and more sustainable diets. This study aimed to estimate the dietary carbon (CF), water (WF), and ecological (EF) footprints of residents in the city of Natal, Brazil; the study also aimed to verify their association with socioeconomic factors and food purchase practices. This is a cross-sectional study that used dietary data from 411 adults and elderlies, which was collected via a questionnaire that applied to the respondents. The results showed that the dietary CF was 1901.88 g CO<sub>2</sub> eq/day/1000 kcal, the WF was 1834.03 L/day/1000 kcal, and the EF was 14.29 m<sup>2</sup>/day/1000 kcal. The highest environmental footprint values showed an association (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05) with the factors of male sex, white ethnicity, and higher income and schooling, whereas the lowest environmental footprint values were associated with social vulnerability variables such as female sex, non-white ethnicity, and lower income and schooling (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05). Moreover, people with lower environmental footprints consumed less fast food, had fewer meals at snack bars, and used food delivery services less often than those with higher footprints. The foods that most contributed to the CFs and WFs were beef and chicken, while fish and beef contribute the most to the EFs. The data in the present study show that a diet with a lower environmental impact is not always equal to a sustainable diet. This relationship is paradoxical and relates to food justice, as people with lower environmental footprint values are the same ones with worse socioeconomic conditions. In this sense, is it essential to consider the influence of the social context when assessing dietary environmental impacts and when assessing actions that promote healthier and more sustainable diets.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/11/23/3842sustainable dietfood consumptionenvironmental impactwater footprintcarbon footprintecological footprint |
| spellingShingle | Maria Hatjiathanassiadou Camila Valdejane Silva de Souza Diôgo Vale Natalie Marinho Dantas Yasmim Bezerra Batista Dirce Maria Lobo Marchioni Severina Carla Vieira Cunha Lima Clélia de Oliveira Lyra Priscilla Moura Rolim Larissa Mont’Alverne Jucá Seabra Dietary Environmental Footprints and Their Association with Socioeconomic Factors and Food Purchase Practices: BRAZUCA Natal Study Foods sustainable diet food consumption environmental impact water footprint carbon footprint ecological footprint |
| title | Dietary Environmental Footprints and Their Association with Socioeconomic Factors and Food Purchase Practices: BRAZUCA Natal Study |
| title_full | Dietary Environmental Footprints and Their Association with Socioeconomic Factors and Food Purchase Practices: BRAZUCA Natal Study |
| title_fullStr | Dietary Environmental Footprints and Their Association with Socioeconomic Factors and Food Purchase Practices: BRAZUCA Natal Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dietary Environmental Footprints and Their Association with Socioeconomic Factors and Food Purchase Practices: BRAZUCA Natal Study |
| title_short | Dietary Environmental Footprints and Their Association with Socioeconomic Factors and Food Purchase Practices: BRAZUCA Natal Study |
| title_sort | dietary environmental footprints and their association with socioeconomic factors and food purchase practices brazuca natal study |
| topic | sustainable diet food consumption environmental impact water footprint carbon footprint ecological footprint |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/11/23/3842 |
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