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Lookup NU author(s): Professor John Mathers
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© The Author(s) 2024.Sub-optimal dietary patterns make major contributions to the Global Burden of Disease and are among the most pressing issues affecting human health. Consequently, they are key to consider when assessing the human health and other environmental impacts of foods and diets within life cycle assessments. The UN Environment Life Cycle Initiative convened a task force on nutrition-related human health impacts as part of the Global Life Cycle Impact Assessment Method (GLAM) project. The health impacts of dietary patterns can be expressed in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), in line with reporting human health impacts of other impact categories within the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) framework. The task force held a workshop with nutrition experts to receive guidance in its process to develop a consensus-based impact assessment framework for addressing nutrition-related health impacts in LCIA. The workshop aimed to (1) evaluate the general assessment framework, (2) discuss scientific questions for quantifying human health impacts from nutrition for food items and diets, and (3) provide initial guidance for further development. The proposed framework based on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) risk ratios was regarded as a good starting point to assess the relative health risks of the general population, provided that the dietary context is considered and several limitations, such as incomplete disease coverage, are acknowledged. The experts advised against a potentially misleading use of adult-derived dietary risk factors for children. To improve global coverage of the GLAM framework, it is important to consider a wider range of dietary patterns. The experts also recommended using a metric complementary to DALYs, such as nutrient adequacy, also considering, e.g., vitamin A and iron, to complement the assessment.
Author(s): Scherer L, Blackstone NT, Conrad Z, Fulgoni VL III, Mathers JC, van der Pols JC, Willett W, Fantke P, Pfister S, Stylianou KS, Weidema BP, Mila i Canals L, Jolliet O
Publication type: Note
Publication status: Published
Journal: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
Year: 2024
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 02/04/2024
Acceptance date: 13/03/2024
ISSN (print): 0948-3349
ISSN (electronic): 1614-7502
Publisher: Springer
URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-024-02298-7
DOI: 10.1007/s11367-024-02298-7
