Planetary health diet in Malaysia: Recommendations for healthier people and planet
Food systems both influence and are influenced by environmental changes. Adopting a Planetary Health Diet (PHD) approach could alleviate the burden of food systems on the environment whilst increasing food security for the population. Here, we assess how the current Malaysian dietary guidelines and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Environmental Challenges |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667010024002154 |
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| author | Nadia Rajaram Yee-How Say Yasmin Norazharuddin Jit Ern Chen Jemilah Mahmood |
| author_facet | Nadia Rajaram Yee-How Say Yasmin Norazharuddin Jit Ern Chen Jemilah Mahmood |
| author_sort | Nadia Rajaram |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Food systems both influence and are influenced by environmental changes. Adopting a Planetary Health Diet (PHD) approach could alleviate the burden of food systems on the environment whilst increasing food security for the population. Here, we assess how the current Malaysian dietary guidelines and dietary intake compares to the PHD and investigate the relationship between the PHD, calorie intake, and food insecurity in Malaysia. We compared the percent of daily calorie intake by food group between the PHD, the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines 2020, and estimated dietary intake from publicly available data. Additionally, the Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI) was used to compare alignment to the PHD across ethnicity, gender, and area of residence. Spearman's correlation tests assessed aggregated correlations between the PHD, daily calorie intake, and food insecurity. Compared to the PHD, the Malaysian diet lacked in legumes (3.6 % vs 23.0 % of daily calorie intake). There was an overconsumption of grains & tubers (53.1 % vs 34.0 %), added sugars (12.4 % vs 4.8 %), and meat (11.7 % vs 4.5 %). The ethnic Indian diet was most closely aligned to the PHD, with a PHDI score of 69.1 compared to the overall score of 46.2. The national dietary guidelines were well aligned to the PHD, however, a large proportion of recommended daily calorie intake was unaccounted for in the guidelines (43.4 %). Encouraging more whole grain and legumes and reducing meat and added sugar intake could help align Malaysian diets with the PHD, benefiting the health and wellbeing of people and their environment. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-660a6d143cec4f54ba805e743ea57b6d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2667-0100 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Challenges |
| spelling | doaj-art-660a6d143cec4f54ba805e743ea57b6d2024-12-17T05:01:35ZengElsevierEnvironmental Challenges2667-01002024-12-0117101049Planetary health diet in Malaysia: Recommendations for healthier people and planetNadia Rajaram0Yee-How Say1Yasmin Norazharuddin2Jit Ern Chen3Jemilah Mahmood4Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, Sunway University Bandar Sunway, Selangor 47500, Malaysia; Corresponding author.School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, MalaysiaUniversity of Nottingham, Malaysia; Malaysian Vegetarian Society, MalaysiaJeffrey Sachs Centre on Sustainable Development, Sunway University, MalaysiaSunway Centre for Planetary Health, Sunway University Bandar Sunway, Selangor 47500, Malaysia; School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, MalaysiaFood systems both influence and are influenced by environmental changes. Adopting a Planetary Health Diet (PHD) approach could alleviate the burden of food systems on the environment whilst increasing food security for the population. Here, we assess how the current Malaysian dietary guidelines and dietary intake compares to the PHD and investigate the relationship between the PHD, calorie intake, and food insecurity in Malaysia. We compared the percent of daily calorie intake by food group between the PHD, the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines 2020, and estimated dietary intake from publicly available data. Additionally, the Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI) was used to compare alignment to the PHD across ethnicity, gender, and area of residence. Spearman's correlation tests assessed aggregated correlations between the PHD, daily calorie intake, and food insecurity. Compared to the PHD, the Malaysian diet lacked in legumes (3.6 % vs 23.0 % of daily calorie intake). There was an overconsumption of grains & tubers (53.1 % vs 34.0 %), added sugars (12.4 % vs 4.8 %), and meat (11.7 % vs 4.5 %). The ethnic Indian diet was most closely aligned to the PHD, with a PHDI score of 69.1 compared to the overall score of 46.2. The national dietary guidelines were well aligned to the PHD, however, a large proportion of recommended daily calorie intake was unaccounted for in the guidelines (43.4 %). Encouraging more whole grain and legumes and reducing meat and added sugar intake could help align Malaysian diets with the PHD, benefiting the health and wellbeing of people and their environment.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667010024002154Planetary health dietEat-lancetMalaysiaNutritionFood systemsSDG |
| spellingShingle | Nadia Rajaram Yee-How Say Yasmin Norazharuddin Jit Ern Chen Jemilah Mahmood Planetary health diet in Malaysia: Recommendations for healthier people and planet Environmental Challenges Planetary health diet Eat-lancet Malaysia Nutrition Food systems SDG |
| title | Planetary health diet in Malaysia: Recommendations for healthier people and planet |
| title_full | Planetary health diet in Malaysia: Recommendations for healthier people and planet |
| title_fullStr | Planetary health diet in Malaysia: Recommendations for healthier people and planet |
| title_full_unstemmed | Planetary health diet in Malaysia: Recommendations for healthier people and planet |
| title_short | Planetary health diet in Malaysia: Recommendations for healthier people and planet |
| title_sort | planetary health diet in malaysia recommendations for healthier people and planet |
| topic | Planetary health diet Eat-lancet Malaysia Nutrition Food systems SDG |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667010024002154 |
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