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Greenhouse gas emissions in relation to micronutrient intake and implications of energy intake : A comparative analysis of different modelling approaches

Stubbendorff, Anna LU orcid ; Hallström, Elinor LU ; Tomova, Georgia ; Borné, Yan LU ; Janzi, Suzanne LU ; Sonestedt, Emily LU orcid and Ericson, Ulrika LU (2025) In The American journal of clinical nutrition
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Human diets account for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE). Reporting dietary GHGE with or without energy standardization yields different outcomes, often resulting in conflicting conclusions regarding associations with micronutrient intake.

OBJECTIVES: To compare methods of reporting dietary GHGE, with and without consideration of energy intake, and their respective associations with micronutrient intake.

METHODS: Data were sourced from the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study, a cohort involving 25,970 participants. GHGE were estimated based on life cycle assessment data. The study explores different methods of reporting dietary climate impact: GHGE per day, GHGE per 1000 kcal, and with different energy adjustments.... (More)

BACKGROUND: Human diets account for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE). Reporting dietary GHGE with or without energy standardization yields different outcomes, often resulting in conflicting conclusions regarding associations with micronutrient intake.

OBJECTIVES: To compare methods of reporting dietary GHGE, with and without consideration of energy intake, and their respective associations with micronutrient intake.

METHODS: Data were sourced from the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study, a cohort involving 25,970 participants. GHGE were estimated based on life cycle assessment data. The study explores different methods of reporting dietary climate impact: GHGE per day, GHGE per 1000 kcal, and with different energy adjustments. Association with micronutrient intake was modelled as daily intake and per 1000 kcal using linear regression models.

RESULTS: Diets with higher GHGE per day were associated with a higher daily intake of all 17 examined micronutrients. When energy was included in the model, the results for GHGE per 1000 kcal aligned well with those for GHGE per day. However, using GHGE per 1000 kcal generally showed that higher GHGE were linked to lower daily micronutrient intake. Different methods of adjusting for energy intake yielded estimates with varying directions and magnitudes of associations.

CONCLUSION: This study highlights implications of energy intake when assessing the impact of dietary GHGE and demonstrates that the choice of GHGE modelling approach might have important consequences for the results and interpretation. The method of choice for modeling dietary GHGE in relation to micronutrient intake needs to be carefully considered in future studies.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
in
The American journal of clinical nutrition
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:105000973152
  • pmid:40074038
ISSN
1938-3207
DOI
10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.02.031
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
id
f0b4af96-c5ea-4b2d-9709-ae4cfc31c3e6
date added to LUP
2025-03-15 14:22:12
date last changed
2025-07-10 06:25:30
@article{f0b4af96-c5ea-4b2d-9709-ae4cfc31c3e6,
  abstract     = {{<p>BACKGROUND: Human diets account for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE). Reporting dietary GHGE with or without energy standardization yields different outcomes, often resulting in conflicting conclusions regarding associations with micronutrient intake.</p><p>OBJECTIVES: To compare methods of reporting dietary GHGE, with and without consideration of energy intake, and their respective associations with micronutrient intake.</p><p>METHODS: Data were sourced from the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study, a cohort involving 25,970 participants. GHGE were estimated based on life cycle assessment data. The study explores different methods of reporting dietary climate impact: GHGE per day, GHGE per 1000 kcal, and with different energy adjustments. Association with micronutrient intake was modelled as daily intake and per 1000 kcal using linear regression models.</p><p>RESULTS: Diets with higher GHGE per day were associated with a higher daily intake of all 17 examined micronutrients. When energy was included in the model, the results for GHGE per 1000 kcal aligned well with those for GHGE per day. However, using GHGE per 1000 kcal generally showed that higher GHGE were linked to lower daily micronutrient intake. Different methods of adjusting for energy intake yielded estimates with varying directions and magnitudes of associations.</p><p>CONCLUSION: This study highlights implications of energy intake when assessing the impact of dietary GHGE and demonstrates that the choice of GHGE modelling approach might have important consequences for the results and interpretation. The method of choice for modeling dietary GHGE in relation to micronutrient intake needs to be carefully considered in future studies.</p>}},
  author       = {{Stubbendorff, Anna and Hallström, Elinor and Tomova, Georgia and Borné, Yan and Janzi, Suzanne and Sonestedt, Emily and Ericson, Ulrika}},
  issn         = {{1938-3207}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{The American journal of clinical nutrition}},
  title        = {{Greenhouse gas emissions in relation to micronutrient intake and implications of energy intake : A comparative analysis of different modelling approaches}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.02.031}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.02.031}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}