Sustainable dietary patterns and their associated quantitative health impacts: a scoping review
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Background Comparing the health impacts of sustainable dietary patterns is challenging due to varying definitions and assessment methods across studies. We aimed to identify, summarise, and discuss these definitions and identify their associated quantitative health impacts. Methods The search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus on November 24th, 2023. Papers published since 1986, that focused on general human populations, defined sustainable dietary patterns, and quantified associated health impacts were included. Results We identified 10,051 unique studies of which 97 were included. Most studies were conducted only in high-income countries (80%) and nearly 80% were published after 2019. About half of the included studies used predictive modelling to estimate health impacts (44%) and among these, most risk-outcome data came from Global Burden of Disease studies (44%). The EAT-Lancet planetary health diet emerged as the most common dietary pattern definition (29%). Conclusions Our review highlights a lack of consistency in sustainable dietary pattern definitions and a stark geographical disparity in investigations connecting sustainable eating to health outcomes. Along with the lack of standard epidemiological data sources for predictive health impact modelling, these findings complicate cross-study comparisons and underscore the need for harmonised definitions and standard data sources to better understand the implications of sustainable diets globally. Trial registration Open Science Framework— https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/AJN3Y
Source: Nutrition Journal
Authors: Anna E. Jacob, Constanza De Matteu, Kyriaki Apergi, Geraldine Boué, Catarina Carvalho, Aleksandra Davydova, Michiel De Bauw, Claire Dénos, Hanna Eneroth, Hernan Gomez Redondo, Lea Sletting Jakobsen, Marianne Uhre Jakobsen, Carla Martins, Androniki Naska, Erika Országh, Morten Poulsen, Juliana M. Ruzante, Sofie Theresa Thomsen, Stefanie Vandevijvere, Hans Verhagen, Yibaina Wang, Andrea Zentai, Sara M. Pires
Institutions: Technical University of Denmark, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Oniris, Universidade do Porto, Sciensano (Belgium), KU Leuven, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Ghent University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Comprehensive Health Research Centre, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Syreon Research Institute (Hungary), RTI International, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,190
OpenAlex ID: W7222191889
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