For more information about the health effects, please refer to the background paper by Henna Vepsäläinen and Jaana Lindström (2023). For more information about the environmental impacts, please refer to the following background papers (Benton et al., 2022; Harwatt et al., 2023; Meltzer et al., 2023; Trolle et al., 2023).
Food and nutrient intake. Dietary patterns attempt to describe the totality of the diet over a given time. A dietary pattern can be defined as the quantities, proportions, variety, or combination of foods and drinks typically consumed. The dietary pattern approach aims to place the emphasis on the total diet as a long-term health determinant, instead of focusing on separate foods and nutrients, which may interact or confound each other.
Health effects. Several qSRs on the role of dietary patterns and health effects are available (2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, 2020; Boushey et al., 2020a, b, c, d, e, f, g) . The conclusions from these qSRs are described in detail in Vepsäläinen and Lindström (2023).
A healthy diet can be characterized as follows: high in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish, low-fat dairy, and legumes and low in red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, high sugar foods, and refined grains. Such dietary patterns are often micronutrient dense, including high intake of unsaturated fats and fibre, and low intake of saturated fats, added sugar and sodium. Healthy dietary patterns are associated with beneficial health outcomes, such as reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer, bone health, and premature death (Vepsäläinen & Linström, 2023).
Environmental impacts. The current average Nordic diets greatly exceed the planetary boundaries related to GHG emissions cropland use, biodiversity, nitrogen use, and phosphorus use (Harwatt et al., 2023; Trolle et al., 2023). The water footprint is mainly located outside the Nordic regions (Trolle et al., 2023). In Nordic dietary patterns, the majority of the GHGE are from ruminant meat and dairy with some country- and gender-specific differences (Harwatt et al., 2023; Meltzer et al., 2023; Trolle et al., 2023). Transitioning from the current Nordic diets to the previous national FBDGs (which are based on NNR2012) would reduce GHG emissions. Larger changes, within the framework of the recommendations in NNR2023, are needed to stay within the limits of planetary boundary for GHG emissions. The environmental impact of dietary patterns depends on the specific foods included, thus also including type of production and site-specific impacts. The foodstuffs comprising the diet should contribute positively and/or have the least negative impact on the environment. In order for dietary patterns to be resource efficient it is fundamental to reduce overconsumption and prevent food waste including using several parts of the animal/plant and encouraging combined systems, e.g., meat and dairy production.