Fostering unsustainability? An analysis of 4-year-olds' dietary impacts in Sweden
The dietary impacts of 746 young Swedish children were assessed across ten indicators: carbon footprint, cropland use, new nitrogen and phosphorus inputs, blue water use, ammonia emissions, pesticide use, biodiversity loss, antibiotic use, and animal welfare. This analysis utilized caretaker-reporte...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Current Research in Environmental Sustainability |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666049025000039 |
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| author | Maria Jacobsen Lotta Moraeus Emma Patterson Anna Karin Lindroos Mattias Eriksson Elin Röös |
| author_facet | Maria Jacobsen Lotta Moraeus Emma Patterson Anna Karin Lindroos Mattias Eriksson Elin Röös |
| author_sort | Maria Jacobsen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The dietary impacts of 746 young Swedish children were assessed across ten indicators: carbon footprint, cropland use, new nitrogen and phosphorus inputs, blue water use, ammonia emissions, pesticide use, biodiversity loss, antibiotic use, and animal welfare. This analysis utilized caretaker-reported food intake data from the Riksmaten Young Children study (2021–24). It employed the Sustainability Assessment of Foods And Diets tool to quantify these impacts against per capita 1000 kcal planetary boundaries and variations in dietary impacts based on factors such as gender, municipal area, parental education level, and consumption setting (home or preschool). We found that the mean dietary impacts fell within or exceeded the uncertainty zone per capita planetary boundaries for five out of six indicators, with only blue water use remaining within the ‘safe space’; notably, zero children had eaten below the uncertainty levels for all indicators. Boys exhibited higher dietary impacts than girls in absolute terms and when adjusted for energy intake. Children from rural areas and those with lower parental education levels also demonstrated higher impacts than their peers. Carbon footprint analysis revealed no substantial differences between home and preschool settings, with lower meat consumption in preschools offset by higher dairy intake. The primary drivers of dietary impacts were red meat, dairy products, and fruit and vegetable consumption. These results highlight substantial challenges in achieving sustainable food production and diets in Sweden while providing essential insights for informing policy and governance frameworks to promote healthier dietary patterns among young children. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b663673c71cc46f3a76f92bc6cef7f55 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2666-0490 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Current Research in Environmental Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj-art-b663673c71cc46f3a76f92bc6cef7f552025-02-06T05:12:46ZengElsevierCurrent Research in Environmental Sustainability2666-04902025-01-019100281Fostering unsustainability? An analysis of 4-year-olds' dietary impacts in SwedenMaria Jacobsen0Lotta Moraeus1Emma Patterson2Anna Karin Lindroos3Mattias Eriksson4Elin Röös5Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7032, Uppsala 750 07, Sweden; Corresponding author.Division for Risk and Benefit Assessment, Swedish Food Agency, Uppsala 751 26, SwedenDivision for Risk and Benefit Assessment, Swedish Food Agency, Uppsala 751 26, Sweden; Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 171 77, SwedenDivision for Risk and Benefit Assessment, Swedish Food Agency, Uppsala 751 26, Sweden; Department of Food Studies, Nutrition and Dietetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Box 560, Uppsala 751 22, SwedenDepartment of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7032, Uppsala 750 07, SwedenDepartment of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7032, Uppsala 750 07, SwedenThe dietary impacts of 746 young Swedish children were assessed across ten indicators: carbon footprint, cropland use, new nitrogen and phosphorus inputs, blue water use, ammonia emissions, pesticide use, biodiversity loss, antibiotic use, and animal welfare. This analysis utilized caretaker-reported food intake data from the Riksmaten Young Children study (2021–24). It employed the Sustainability Assessment of Foods And Diets tool to quantify these impacts against per capita 1000 kcal planetary boundaries and variations in dietary impacts based on factors such as gender, municipal area, parental education level, and consumption setting (home or preschool). We found that the mean dietary impacts fell within or exceeded the uncertainty zone per capita planetary boundaries for five out of six indicators, with only blue water use remaining within the ‘safe space’; notably, zero children had eaten below the uncertainty levels for all indicators. Boys exhibited higher dietary impacts than girls in absolute terms and when adjusted for energy intake. Children from rural areas and those with lower parental education levels also demonstrated higher impacts than their peers. Carbon footprint analysis revealed no substantial differences between home and preschool settings, with lower meat consumption in preschools offset by higher dairy intake. The primary drivers of dietary impacts were red meat, dairy products, and fruit and vegetable consumption. These results highlight substantial challenges in achieving sustainable food production and diets in Sweden while providing essential insights for informing policy and governance frameworks to promote healthier dietary patterns among young children.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666049025000039Environmental impactDietary intakeRiksmatenFlexFood systemSustainability assessments of foods and diets |
| spellingShingle | Maria Jacobsen Lotta Moraeus Emma Patterson Anna Karin Lindroos Mattias Eriksson Elin Röös Fostering unsustainability? An analysis of 4-year-olds' dietary impacts in Sweden Current Research in Environmental Sustainability Environmental impact Dietary intake RiksmatenFlex Food system Sustainability assessments of foods and diets |
| title | Fostering unsustainability? An analysis of 4-year-olds' dietary impacts in Sweden |
| title_full | Fostering unsustainability? An analysis of 4-year-olds' dietary impacts in Sweden |
| title_fullStr | Fostering unsustainability? An analysis of 4-year-olds' dietary impacts in Sweden |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fostering unsustainability? An analysis of 4-year-olds' dietary impacts in Sweden |
| title_short | Fostering unsustainability? An analysis of 4-year-olds' dietary impacts in Sweden |
| title_sort | fostering unsustainability an analysis of 4 year olds dietary impacts in sweden |
| topic | Environmental impact Dietary intake RiksmatenFlex Food system Sustainability assessments of foods and diets |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666049025000039 |
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