SUSTAINABILITY OF DIETARY GUIDELINES COMPARED WITH USUAL DIET

Background and Aim: Water shortage is one of the most important crises Iran is facing for the last few decades, as it affects general welfare, public health, and ecosystems. Food production has a notable contribution in water use. Changes in population diet could lead to a major reduction in water use. This study aims to study the sustainability of three different food guidelines in terms of water use among a sample of the adult population in Urmia, Iran.Methods: First, food intakes of 724 adults were assessed by a Food Frequency Questioner (FFQ). Then the amount of water used by the usual diet was determined using water footprint approach. Finally, three different scenarios of Iranian Food Pyramid (IFP), Mediterranean Food Pyramid (MFP), and Vegetarian Food Pyramid (VFP) were investigated by linear programming to minimize the water footprint. Results: The decline in water use in a diet based on IFP compared with real intake of the sample, when energy intake was equal to the usual intake (2920 Kcal), was 29%. The decline was 41% when the energy intake was equal to the recommended value (2675 Kcal). In a diet based on MFP, these values were 43% and 45%, respectively. For VFP diet these were 45% and 45.3%, respectively.Conclusion: Changing the usual food consumption pattern of people to a healthier diet which is based on dietary guidelines leads to a reduction in water use for food production and increase sustainability of diet.

Keywords:

Dietary Guideline , Sustainable Diet , Water foot print , Linear Programming , Urmia/Iran