Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and adherence to Mediterranean diet in an adult population: the Mediterranean diet index as a pollution level index

García, Silvia; Bouzas, Cristina; Mateos, David; Pastor, Rosario; Alvarez, Laura; Rubín, María; Martínez-González, Miguel-Ángel; Salas-Salvadó, Jordi; Corella, Dolores; Goday, Albert; Alfredo Martínez, J.; Alonso-Gómez, Ángel M; Warnberg, Julia; Vioque, Jesus; Romaguera, Dora; Lopez-Miranda, José; Estruch, Ramón; Tinahones, Francisco
J.; Lapetra, José; Serra-Majem, Lluis; Riquelme-Gallego, Blanca; Pintó, Xavier; Gaforio, José J.; Matia, Pilar; Vidal, Josep; Vázquez, Clotilde; Daimiel, Lidia; Ros, Emilio; Bes-Rastrollo, Maira; Guillem-Saiz, Patricia; Nishi, Stephanie K.; Cabanes, Robert; Abete, Itziar; Goicolea-Güemez, Leire; Gómez-Gracia, Enrique; Signes-Pastor, Antonio José; Colom, Antoni; García-Ríos, Antonio; Castro-Barquero, Sara; Fernández-García, José C.; Santos-Lozano, Jose Manuel; Vázquez, Zenaida; Sorlí, José V; Pascual, María; Castañer, Olga; Zulet, Maria Angeles; Vaquero-Luna, Jessica; Javier Basterra-Gortari, Francisco; Babio, Nancy; Ciurana, Ramon; Sánchez, Vicente Martín; Tur, Josep A.

doi:10.1186/s12940-022-00956-7

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and adherence to Mediterranean diet in an adult population: the Mediterranean diet index as a pollution level index

journal contribution

posted on 2025-10-23, 01:42 authored by Silvia García, Cristina Bouzas, David Mateos, Rosario Pastor, Laura Alvarez, María Rubín, Miguel-Ángel Martínez-González, Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Dolores Corella, Albert Goday, J. Alfredo Martínez, Ángel M Alonso-Gómez, Julia Warnberg, Jesus Vioque, Dora Romaguera, José Lopez-Miranda, Ramón Estruch, Francisco J. Tinahones, José Lapetra, Lluis Serra-Majem, Blanca Riquelme-Gallego, Xavier Pintó, José J. Gaforio, Pilar Matia, Josep Vidal, Clotilde Vázquez, Lidia Daimiel, Emilio Ros, Maira Bes-RastrolloMaira Bes-Rastrollo, Patricia Guillem-Saiz, Stephanie K. NishiStephanie K. Nishi, Robert Cabanes, Itziar Abete, Leire Goicolea-Güemez, Enrique Gómez-Gracia, Antonio José Signes-Pastor, Antoni Colom, Antonio García-Ríos, Sara Castro-Barquero, José C. Fernández-García, Jose Manuel Santos-Lozano, Zenaida Vázquez, José V Sorlí, María Pascual, Olga Castañer, Maria Angeles Zulet, Jessica Vaquero-Luna, Francisco Javier Basterra-Gortari, Nancy Babio, Ramon Ciurana, Vicente Martín Sánchez, Josep A. Tur

Background Research related to sustainable diets is is highly relevant to provide better understanding of the impact of dietary intake on the health and the environment. Aim To assess the association between the adherence to an energy-restricted Mediterranean diet and the amount of CO2 emitted in an older adult population. Design and population Using a cross-sectional design, the association between the adherence to an energy-reduced Mediterranean Diet (erMedDiet) score and dietary CO2 emissions in 6646 participants was assessed. Methods Food intake and adherence to the erMedDiet was assessed using validated food frequency questionnaire and 17-item Mediterranean questionnaire. Sociodemographic characteristics were documented. Environmental impact was calculated through greenhouse gas emissions estimations, specifically CO2 emissions of each participant diet per day, using a European database. Participants were distributed in quartiles according to their estimated CO2 emissions expressed in kg/day: Q1 (≤2.01 kg CO2), Q2 (2.02-2.34 kg CO2), Q3 (2.35-2.79 kg CO2) and Q4 (≥2.80 kg CO2). Results More men than women induced higher dietary levels of CO2 emissions. Participants reporting higher consumption of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, whole cereals, preferring white meat, and having less consumption of red meat were mostly emitting less kg of CO2 through diet. Participants with higher adherence to the Mediterranean Diet showed lower odds for dietary CO2 emissions: Q2 (OR 0.87; 95%CI: 0.76-1.00), Q3 (OR 0.69; 95%CI: 0.69-0.79) and Q4 (OR 0.48; 95%CI: 0.42-0.55) vs Q1 (reference). Conclusions The Mediterranean diet can be environmentally protective since the higher the adherence to the Mediterranean diet, the lower total dietary CO2 emissions. Mediterranean Diet index may be used as a pollution level index.