Abstract
ABSTRACTOBJECTIVE 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 2008–2009 on a probabilistic sample of the Brazilian population aged ≥ 10 years (n = 32,886). Individual food intake was assessed using two 24-hour food records, on non-consecutive days. 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.
Highlights
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
Summary
Food systems and supplies are transforming into a global industrial system, with corresponding changes in the production, distribution, and consumption of food[1]. As shown by time series on annual food sales available in 81 countries, including Brazil, the most conspicuous change has been the increase in the supply and consumption of ultra-processed foods[2]. In Brazil, national household surveys on food purchases have documented, since the 1980s, the displacement of fresh and minimally processed foods and their culinary preparations as dishes and meals by ultra-processed foods[3]. Ultra-processed foods, as defined by the Nova classification[4], are industrial formulations made mostly or entirely with substances extracted from foods, often chemically modified, and from additives, with little if any whole food added[5]. Typical examples of ultra-processed products are soft drinks, packaged snacks, confectionery, reconstituted meat products, and frozen or shelf-stable ready meals[4]
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