Healthy Diets at the Intersection of Human and Planetary Health

Our diets are the greatest determinant of our health. What we eat is sustained and shaped by the food we produce, and reciprocally, our food choices influence food production systems. Though unequally, food systems have increased production sufficiently to feed the growing world population. Science and technology, including progress in food systems, have led to decreased undernutrition worldwide, with large differences between high-income and low-income countries. At the same time, this has led to a dietary transition, with increases in energy and protein intakes, and a dramatic rise in non-communicable diseases. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are now responsible for 65% of all disability, or healthy life years lost to disease. High blood pressure, high fasting plasma glucose, high body mass index, and high LDL cholesterol – all diet-related – are in the top eight risk factors for disability, and they are the fastest-increasing risks for early death. Suboptimal diets are responsible for more deaths than any other risks globally, including tobacco smoking. The leading dietary risk factors for mortality are diets high in sodium, low in whole grains, low in fruit, low in nuts and seeds, and low in vegetables, together with global and regional excesses in red meat, sugar, sweetened beverages, and trans fats.