Mediterranean Diet and Its Environmental Footprints Amid Nutrition Transition: The Case of Lebanon

Farah Naja, Leila Itani, Rena Hamade, Marie Claire Chamieh and Nahla Hwalla
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Farah Naja: Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon
Leila Itani: Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Beirut Arab University Beirut, Beirut 1107 2809, Lebanon
Rena Hamade: Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon
Marie Claire Chamieh: Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon
Nahla Hwalla: Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 23, 1-18

Abstract: Many Mediterranean countries, including Lebanon, are experiencing a shift in food consumption away from the traditional Mediterranean diet (MD), concomitant with the escalating burden of non-communicable diseases and dwindling environmental resources. Objective: to examine the adherence to the MD and its association with environmental footprints (EFPs), including water use, energy use, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, among Lebanese adults. Data of Lebanese adults were drawn from the national food consumption survey (n = 2610). Assessment of dietary intake was conducted using a food-frequency questionnaire. Adherence to the MD was examined using four published MD scores. Metrics for the EFPs were calculated using a review of existing life cycle assessments (LCAs). For all MD scores, less than 13% of participants were in the highest tertile. After adjustments for covariates, two of the MD scores were associated with lower water use. For GHG, significant inverse associations were observed with all MD scores. Energy use was not associated with MD scores. Overall, low adherence to the MD among Lebanese adults was observed, together with an inverse association between adherence to the MD and water use and GHG emissions. These findings support and enforce ongoing efforts that aim to increase adherence to the MD in order to address health issues, as well as tackle environmental sustainability.

Keywords: Mediterranean diet; sustainable diets; environmental footprints; Lebanon (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:23:p:6690-:d:291149

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