The Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK.
Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Mar 8;19(6):3191. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063191.
Food-based analyses of the healthiness, environmental sustainability and affordability of processed and ultra-processed foods are lacking. This paper aimed to determine how ultra-processed and processed foods compare to fresh and minimally processed foods in relation to nutritional quality, greenhouse gas emissions and cost on the food and food group level. Data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey nutrient databank year 11 (2018/2019) were used for this analysis. Median and bootstrapped medians of nutritional quality (NRF8.3 index), greenhouse gas emissions (gCO2-equivalents) and cost (in GBP) were compared across processing categories. An optimal score based on the medians was created to identify the most nutritional, sustainable, and affordable options across processing categories. On a per 100 kcal basis, ultra-processed and processed foods had a lower nutritional quality, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and were cheaper than minimally processed foods, regardless of their total fat, salt and/or sugar content. The most nutritious, environmentally friendly, and affordable foods were generally lower in total fat, salt, and sugar, irrespective of processing level. The high variability in greenhouse gas emissions and cost across food groups and processing levels offer opportunities for food swaps representing the healthiest, greenest, and most affordable options.
基于食物的健康、环境可持续性和可负担性分析，对加工食品和超加工食品的研究还很缺乏。本文旨在确定超加工食品和加工食品与新鲜食品和最低限度加工食品在营养质量、温室气体排放和食品及食品组层面成本方面的差异。本分析使用了国家饮食与营养调查营养数据库第 11 年（2018/2019 年）的数据。比较了不同加工类别下营养质量（NRF8.3 指数）、温室气体排放（gCO2 当量）和成本（英镑）的中位数和 bootstrap 中位数。基于中位数创建了一个最佳得分，以确定在不同加工类别中最具营养、可持续和可负担的选择。在每 100 千卡的基础上，超加工食品和加工食品的营养质量较低，温室气体排放量较低，且成本低于最低限度加工食品，无论其总脂肪、盐和/或糖含量如何。无论加工水平如何，最有营养、对环境最友好且最实惠的食物通常总脂肪、盐和糖含量较低。食品组和加工水平的温室气体排放和成本的高度可变性为食品交换提供了机会，这些食品交换代表了最健康、最环保和最实惠的选择。
