34 research outputs found
The Effect of Different Types of Diet on Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Greece
Diet modifications are explored for the mitigation of greenhouse gases emissions worldwide. The current paper aims at estimating the carbon footprint of the diet of the Greek consumers in 2011. Based on food items consumption data, equivalent CO2 emission factors, the total carbon footprint associated with the per capita Greek diet patterns is calculated. Data for this task are retrieved from readily available resources of existent literature. The per capita carbon footprint resulting from the consumption of food items in Greece in 2011 for the reference scenario is calculated to be 1,827.4 kg CO2/y. In addition, alternative diet scenarios are proposed, their carbon footprint is calculated and suggestions are made for possible sustainable dietary changes. The results indicate that transition to a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet constitutes a very drastic change towards mitigating greenhouse gases. However its acceptance by the public is very questionable. Thus, the second alternative scenario, which anticipates the substitution of beef by mainly pork and chicken, becomes more relevant. These results could serve as a yardstick for policy interventions aiming at reducing GHG emissions via diet modifications in Greece
Acute effects of dietary fat composition on postprandial plasma bile acid and cholecystokinin concentrations in healthy premenopausal women
Prevalence of obesity in preschool Greek children, in relation to parental characteristics and region of residence
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to record the prevalence of overweight and obesity in relation to parental education level, parental body mass index and region of residence, in preschool children in Greece.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 2374 children (1218 males and 1156 females) aged 1–5 years, stratified by parental educational level (Census 1999), were examined from 105 nurseries in five counties, from April 2003 to July 2004, Weight (kg) and height (cm) were obtained and BMI (kg/m<sup>2</sup>) was calculated. Both the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) methods were used to classify each child as "normal", "at risk of overweight" and "overweight". Parental demographic characteristics, such as age and educational level and parental anthropometrical data, such as stature and body weight, were also recorded with the use of a specifically designed questionnaire.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall estimates of at risk of overweight and overweight using the CDC method was 31.9%, 10.6 percentage points higher than the IOTF estimate of 21.3% and this difference was significant (p < 0.001). Children with one obese parent had 91% greater odds for being overweight compared to those with no obese parent, while the likelihood for being overweight was 2.38 times greater for children with two obese parents in the multivariate model.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Both methods used to assess prevalence of obesity have demonstarted that a high percentage of the preschool children in our sample were overweight. Parental body mass index was also shown to be an obesity risk factor in very young children.</p