Building an evidence base towards sustainable diets in the Irish population

Background: Climate change, food demand and diet-related disease underline an urgent need for more sustainable and healthy food practices. Dietary guidance in the form of Sustainable Food Based Dietary Guidelines have been recommended at a national level to mitigate the environmental impact of food consumption, while improving health. For the Irish population to transition to sustainable diets, an improved knowledge base is required on the quality of current dietary patterns and the environmental impact of such. Objective: This thesis was designed to analyse diets reported in the Irish Population from a nutrition, environment, and cost perspective, and to complete preliminary modelling of healthier and more sustainable diets for sub-groups of the population. Methods: Food intakes on children, teenagers, and adults were taken from IUNA food consumption databases (FCDB). Nutrient based diet quality scores were calculated and evaluated as a metric of diet quality. Environmental data on greenhouse gas emissions and water use were taken from a UK life cycle assessment study, and agricultural impacts (cropland, nitrogen, and phosphorous use) from the FAOSTAT database to adults. A food price database was compiled, and dietary optimisation was completed using FICO Xpress software. Results: An evidence base was created by assigning three nutrient based scoring systems and linking data on environmental factors and food price to the FCDBs. In the nutritional analysis, teenagers and young adult females had significantly lower nutritional adequacy than the rest of the Irish population (58% probability of meeting nutrient recommendations). Lower nutritional adequacy was highlighted in females, those with a lower education level, and those from a more urban location. The Irish population was found to exceed planetary boundaries for GHGe (by up to 226%) but were well within the planetary boundaries for water use (