Integrating Environmental and Nutritional Health Impacts Using Disability-Adjusted Life Years: Study Using the Ajinomoto Group Nutrient Profiling System Toward Healthy and Sustainable Japanese Dishes

Genta Sugiyama (), Akito Onoda, Sachi Nii, Chie Furuta, Keiji Nakamura and Norihiro Itsubo
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Genta Sugiyama: Department of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan
Akito Onoda: Institute of Food Sciences and Technologies, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Kanagawa 210-8681, Japan
Sachi Nii: Institute of Food Sciences and Technologies, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Kanagawa 210-8681, Japan
Chie Furuta: Institute of Food Sciences and Technologies, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Kanagawa 210-8681, Japan
Keiji Nakamura: Research and Business Planning Department, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Tokyo 104-8315, Japan
Norihiro Itsubo: Department of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-32

Abstract: This study integrates the health impacts of environmental burdens and dietary intake using disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) to inform a healthier, more sustainable Japanese diet. Climate change, air pollution, ozone depletion, photochemical oxidants, and water consumption were quantified with Life cycle Impact assessment Method based on Endpoint modeling (LIME), while eleven dietary risks were converted to DALYs using dietary risk factors. Recipes collected online on a per-serving basis were classified into staple, main, side, and soup dishes and stratified into quartiles based on a nutrient profiling system (NPS) tailored to Japanese well-consumed dishes—the Ajinomoto Group NPS (ANPS) for dishes. ANPS—a culturally adapted NPS emphasizing protein, vegetables, sodium, and saturated fatty acids—was regressed against total DALYs to test whether higher ANPS scores correspond to lower combined health impacts of environment and diet. The analysis identified dish groups and high-scoring quartiles that minimized environmental and nutrition-related DALYs, revealing practical dish combinations that balance reduced sodium and red meat with increased vegetables, seafood, and nuts. These findings demonstrate the utility of coupling nutrient profiling with life cycle assessment (LCA) and provide a scientific basis for dietary guidelines that jointly advance human and planetary health within the emerging nutritional LCA framework.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; dietary risk; disability-adjusted life years; nutritional profiling system; sustainable diet (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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