Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 4 — Narrative / commentaryPeer-reviewed

Combining nutrient profiling and environmental sustainability metrics

Huybrechts, I. et al.

2021

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Summary

This paper, published in Frontiers in Nutrition (2021), reviews and evaluates methodological approaches to combining nutrient profiling with environmental sustainability metrics in food assessment frameworks. It likely identifies areas of convergence and conflict between nutritional and environmental performance across food groups, contributing to the methodological debate around sustainable healthy diet indices. The work is relevant to researchers and policymakers seeking integrated tools for assessing the dual nutritional and environmental credentials of food systems.

UK applicability

While the study is international in scope, the methodological frameworks discussed are directly applicable to UK food policy contexts, including the development of front-of-pack labelling, dietary guidelines, and sustainability reporting within the UK food system.

Key measures

Nutrient profile scores; greenhouse gas emissions (kg CO2-eq); land use (m²); water footprint (litres); environmental sustainability indices

Outcomes reported

The study examined how nutrient profiling models can be combined with environmental sustainability metrics (such as greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water footprint) to produce composite food scoring systems. It likely assessed the degree of alignment or trade-off between nutritional quality and environmental impact across food categories.

Theme
Measurement & metrics
Subject
Sustainable healthy diets & food scoring
Study type
Narrative Review
Study design
Narrative review
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
International
System type
Food supply chain
Catalogue ID
XL0662

Topic tags

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