Notes on Nutrition
Asynchronous Session
Mapping the Evidence of Novel Plant-based Foods: A Systematic Literature Review of Nutritional, Health, and Environmental Impacts View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sarah Nájera Espinosa
Shifting from current dietary patterns to diets rich in plant-based [PB] foods and lower in animal-based foods (ABF) is regarded as a suitable strategy to improve nutritional health and reduce adverse environmental impacts – particularly in high-income countries (HIC). Novel plant-based foods (NPBF) - products specifically designed to mimic and/or replace ABF - could facilitate such shifts. Given their market expansion, a comprehensive overview of the health and sustainability of these foods is urgently needed for informed decision-making regarding their potential use in dietary change. After systematically searching 5 scientific literature databases, we synthesized the available evidence from peer-reviewed and grey literature published between 2016 and 2022 reporting nutrient composition, and environmental and health impacts of NPBF in HIC. We identified 57 peer-reviewed and 35 grey literature sources. We developed a qualitative pooled and descriptive analysis, and data visualization by product type and food group based on primary ingredient. Overall, we observed that NPBF had substantially less environmental impact compared to ABF. Although NPBF were found to be a potential source of fibre, fruit, vegetables, nuts and legumes, content of these and other nutrients ranged across brands, product type and main primary ingredient. From the limited evidence, most NPBF were associated with positive health outcomes including weight maintenance and gut health. If carefully designed, NPBF could play a pivotal role in the transition to meet environmental and health targets. Prioritization of nutritional food standards, labelling, long-term health studies and affordability considerations are required for more accurate evidence-based decision making.
Featured Exploring the Bidirectional Relationship between Household Food Insecurity and Parents’ Mental Health View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sarthak Agarwal
Food insecurity (FI) and poor mental health (MH) are pressing public health concerns that share a critical connection with dietary behaviors and nutrition outcomes. There is evidence that FI and poor MH are causally linked but different studies have found mixed results. Our study examines the bidirectional relationship between the two to determine whether household FI predicts parent’s poor MH, and vice versa, while estimating the underlying pathways. Longitudinal data from the Family Matters study of 1,307 families from six racial/ethnic groups in Minneapolis/St. Paul, USA was collected in 2017-2018 (baseline) and 2019-2020 (follow-up). FI was determined by the USDA 6-item questionnaire and MH was assessed using the Kessler-6 psychological distress scale. Demographic and socio-economic variables, in addition to potential mediator variables, were controlled for in the analyses. Multivariate linear and logistic regression models were used. Results: At baseline, 28.4% of households in our sample were FI and 8.4% of the parents were psychologically distressed. FI at baseline was significantly associated with poor mental health at follow-up (p< 0.01), while the reverse (poor MH at baseline and FI at follow-up) was not statistically significant. While household FI and parent’s poor MH tend to be associated with one another, this study suggests that the likely direction of causation is from FI to poor MH. It, therefore, calls for policies and interventions that address FI since benefits may spill over into improved mental health outcomes: programs providing food assistance may also introduce participants to mental health resources.
Yo No Como Eso: Gender, Taste and COVID Era Food Scarcity in Havana View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Karina Cespedes
This paper examines COVID-era food scarcity, health, and inflation in Havana. It assesses the refusal to consume genetically modified fish, even amid hunger and malnutrition. It considers the gendered expectations of women to feed their families and analyzes how Cuban women navigate Cuba’s failed food ration system. By tracing what women refuse to purchase, cook, and serve their families based on notions of “taste”/disgust and religious beliefs, as well as where and how Cuban women obtain food, the study provides an assessment of the ecologically fraught measures taken by the Cuban state to increase access to a source of protein that is rejected by an otherwise hungry and malnourished population. The paper considers the strategies of survival deployed by Cuban women to feed their families. Utilizing as examples the refusal to consume genetically modified sources of protein, the detrimental environmental impacts of genetically modified food sources, and the lack of access to sufficient protein via the food ration system, the study provides a window into the gendered expectations and demands women face daily to feed their families.
