ArticleThe American journal of clinical nutrition2019
Carbon footprint of self-selected US diets: nutritional, demographic, and behavioral correlates.
Article in The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Environmental Impact of Current Diets and Alternative Dietary Scenarios Worldwide: A Systematic Review.Nutrition reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic Review of Dietary Patterns and Sustainability in the United States.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2020Pooled it
- Eco-Focused Menu Labels on Full Meal Orders From Fast-Food Restaurants: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA health forum · 2026Trial
- Ecolabels and the Healthfulness and Carbon Footprint of Restaurant Meal Selections: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- Planetary Health Diet Index and breast cancer risk.British journal of cancer · 2026Article
- Nudging Toward Sustainable and Healthy Diets: A Randomized Trial of Young Adults.Current developments in nutrition · 2026Article
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- Article
- Environmental impact of food consumption: determinants of carbon and water footprints in an Italian population.European journal of public health · 2026Article
- Health and environmental evidence, challenges, and sustainable strategies of Planetary Health Diet: A mixed-methods review.Eco-Environment & Health · 2026Review
- Translating Science to Improve Health-a Report from the "Agriculture and Diet: Value Added for Nutrition, Translation, and Adaptation in a Global Ecology" (ADVANTAGE) Project Working Group 5.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Review
- The association of food consumption and macronutrient intake with dietary climate impact in Finland: considerations on the role of energy intake.Public health nutrition · 2026Article
- Is the Planeterranean Diet the Key Driver Towards Health and Environment Promotion? A Narrative Review.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Association between sustainable and healthy diet adherence and nutritional adequacy among portuguese adults.European journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Associations between adherence to Japanese food guide spinning top and nutrient density, climate impacts, and monetary cost: findings from the Saitama Prefecture Nutrition Survey 2017.European journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Balancing Environmental Sustainability and Nutrition: Dietary Climate Impact in Relation to Micronutrient Intake and Status in a Swedish Cohort.Current developments in nutrition · 2025Article
- Ultraprocessed Food Consumption and Pre-Farmgate Greenhouse Gas Emissions Among United States Adults from 2007-2010.Current developments in nutrition · 2025Article
- Greenhouse gas emissions in relation to micronutrient intake and implications of energy intake: a comparative analysis of different modeling approaches.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Article
- MUSAE: Fusion of art and technology to address challenges in food and health.Nutrition bulletin · 2025Article
- Dietary greenhouse gas emissions and resource use among Bavarian adults: associations with sociodemographics and food choices.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundA substantial portion of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) has been attributed to the food sector, but little is known about the association between the carbon footprint of individual self-selected diets in the United States and nutritional quality.
objectivesThe aims of this study were to assess the GHGE from individual self-selected diets in the United States and examine their association with nutritional quality of the diets, demographic patterns, and food-related behaviors.
methodsThe dietary GHGE from US adults (>18 y, N = 16,800) in the 2005-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were calculated by linking all foods consumed in their 24-h recall diets to our new database of food environmental impacts. Diets were ranked by GHGE/1000 kcal. Those in the top and bottom quintiles were compared on the US Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and on the amounts of specific nutrients known to be under- or overconsumed in the US population. Demographic and behavioral variables from the NHANES were also correlated to these dietary carbon footprints.
resultsDiets in the bottom quintile accounted for one-fifth the total emissions (GHGE/1000 kcal) of those in the top quintile, yet had significantly higher (P < 0.001) HEI scores by 2.3 ± 0.7 points on a 100-point scale. These low-GHGE diets contained higher amounts of fiber and vitamin E and lower amounts of sodium and saturated fats, whereas high-GHGE diets contained higher amounts of vitamins A and D, choline, calcium, iron, and potassium. Low-GHGE diets had less meat, dairy, and solid fats, and more poultry, plant protein foods, oils, whole and refined grains, and added sugars.
conclusionsFood patterns responsible for lower GHGE had a better overall diet quality and were more nutritious on several key dimensions, although not all. These results can inform dietary guidance and other policies that seek to address the goals of improved dietary intakes and reduced food-related emissions.
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