Cultural differences in diet and determinants of diet quality in Switzerland : results from the national nutrition survey menuCH

Sociodemographic differences in dietary consumption were observed in different populations. The current study aimed to identify sociodemographic and lifestyle determinants of diet quality and to investigate the differences in diet quality between the three main language regions of Switzerland. Using data of the Swiss National Nutrition Survey menuCH (n = 2057), two diet quality scores-Alternate Healthy Eating Index and Mediterranean Diet Score-were computed. Linear regression models were used to investigate the determinants of diet quality and chi-square tests were used to test for differences in single score components between language regions. Significantly higher diet quality scores were observed for individuals who were female, older, normal weight, non-Swiss, with tertiary education or moderate-to-high physical activity level. Additionally, residents of the French- and Italian-speaking parts of Switzerland scored higher than residents of the German-speaking region. More specifically, the higher diet quality observed in the French- and Italian-speaking regions was mediated by higher scores in the components of alcohol, dairy products, fat, fish, sugar-sweetened beverages and whole grains. The present results may help to better characterize population groups requiring specific dietary recommendations, enabling public health authorities to develop targeted interventions

Dietary patterns and their sociodemographic and lifestyle determinants in Switzerland : results from the national nutrition survey menuCH

From a public health perspective, determinants of diets are crucial to identify, but they remain unclear in Switzerland. Hence, we sought to define current dietary patterns and their sociodemographic and lifestyle determinants using the national nutrition survey menuCH (2014⁻2015, n = 2057). First, we applied multiple factorial analysis and hierarchical clustering on the energy-standardised daily consumption of 17 food categories. Four dietary patterns were identified ("Swiss traditional": high intakes of dairy products and chocolate, n = 744; "Western 1": soft drinks and meat, n = 383; "Western 2": alcohol, meat and starchy, n = 444; and "Prudent": n = 486). Second, we used multinomial logistic regression to examine the determinants of the four dietary patterns: ten sociodemographic or lifestyle factors (sex, age, body mass index, language region, nationality, marital status, income, physical activity, smoking status, and being on a weight-loss diet) were significantly associated with the dietary patterns. Notably, belonging to the French- and Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland increased the odds of following a "Prudent" diet (Odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.92 [1.45⁻2.53] and 1.68 [0.98⁻2.90], respectively) compared to the German-speaking regions. Our findings highlight the influence of sociodemographic and lifestyle parameters on diet and the particularities of the language regions of Switzerland. These results provide the basis for public health interventions targeted for population subgroups

Sustainable and healthy diets: trade-offs and synergies : final scientific report

This project aimed at analysing trade-offs and synergies between healthy nutrition and sustainable food systems. First, we identified nutritional patters of the Swiss population based on representative consumption data. The health impacts of these nutritional patterns were then analysed based on a review of the scientific literature on health impacts of food commodities and diets and by calculating the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) and Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) of the nutritional patterns. Second, we comprehensively analysed health, environmental, social and economic impacts and related trade-offs and synergies for a number of future scenarios of Swiss agricultural production and food consumption. For this, we used a modelling approach, linking three different models: a global mass flow model, a system dynamics model and an environmentally extended input-output model. We modelled ten different scenarios for the Swiss Food Sector in 2050. These scenarios were either developed in a participatory process during a series of interviews and group discussions with different groups of stakeholders or optimised environmental impacts while at the same time complying with different nutritional and agronomic restrictions. Three main scenarios were analysed with all three models in detail. Among these main scenarios was the SwissFoodPyramid2050 Scenario, which assumes a widespread implementation of the nutritional recommendations according to the Swiss Food Pyramid. The FeedNoFood2050 Scenario assumes an improved use of agricultural land by feeding only grass and by-products to livestock, which was not competing with direct human nutrition, i.e. did not require arable land (neither in Switzerland nor abroad). The third scenario was a reference scenario, which assumes no changes in diets until 2050 and which was used to compare the two alternative scenarios. The other scenarios were targeted at specific questions such as minimizing greenhouse gases. Our results illustrate two visions of how healthy diets and sustainable food systems could look like. Both the SwissFoodPyramid2050 and the FeedNoFood2005 scenarios would require similar dietary changes, such as a reduction of meat consumption and an increase of consumption of pulses. However, there are also fundamental differences between the diets in the two alternative scenarios, e.g. regarding the type of meat consumed. These differences can be interpreted as trade-offs which result from agronomic boundary conditions such as the coupled production of milk and meat, the availability of natural resources, such as grassland and co-products of food processing and health aspects of Swiss diets. Of primary importance in this respect was the use of permanent grasslands and the co-production of veal and beef with dairy production due to environmental reasons and reasons for optimally utilizing available resources. This means, if permanent grassland should be maintained as an ecosystem, dairy production would provide the basis for animal proteins. Thus, while in the FeedNoFood2050 Scenario veal and rather low-quality beef from dairy cows is consumed instead of meat from monogastrics, the SwissFoodPyramid2050 Scenario would result in a higher amount of meat from monogastrics. Our results imply that there is a lack of a comprehensive food systems view in the current discussion on healthy and sustainable diets. Stronger coherence between health, food and agricultural policy is needed to account for systemic boundary conditions and thus to allow for minimising trade-offs and maximise synergies. Current agricultural policies fail to address the health perspective. Financial support for meat and sugar producers, which lead to lower prices for those products and ultimately to a higher consumption than without these policies, are two obvious examples. Yet, comprehensive visions such as the SwissFoodPyramid scenario, the FeedNoFood Scenario or optimised scenarios would require an even more complex policy mix of incentives, regulations and information campaigns. This would probably need an adaptation of the current institutional setting and division of competences between the Federal Offices for Agriculture (FOAG) and for the Environment (FOEN), the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO). A commonly shared vision, including specific goals with respect to how the Swiss food system should look like, is urgently needed. Developing such a vision needs to involve all operators and stakeholders of the food system, as our results imply that more sustainable and healthy diets do not necessarily go along with financial benefits of both producers and consumers. These trade-offs and the knowledge of behavioural economics need to be considered for designing settings which create mutual benefits for operators in the food sector. For instance, neither the majority of consumers, food industry nor agricultural producers can be expected to respond altruistically as an entire sector in the long term. Therefore, policy needs to set financial incentives for internalising environmental and social externalities in order to push and pull the food system towards sustainability. Furthermore, it is crucial to account for agronomic boundary conditions and systemic aspects, such as the role of ruminants in utilizing grasslands and the unavoidable link of milk and meat production

No-meat eaters are less likely to be overweight or obese, but take dietary supplements more often: results from the Swiss National Nutrition survey menuCH

Objective: To describe and analyse the sociodemographic, anthropometric, behavioural and dietary characteristics of different types of Swiss (no-)meat eaters. Design: No-, low-, medium- and high-meat eaters were compared with respect to energy and total protein intake and sociodemographic, anthropometric and behavioural characteristics. Setting: National Nutrition Survey menuCH, the first representative survey in Switzerland. Participants: 2057 participants, aged 18-75 years old, who completed two 24-h dietary recalls (24-HDR) and a questionnaire on dietary habits, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. Body weight and height were measured by trained interviewers. No-meat eaters were participants who reported meat avoidance in the questionnaire and did not report any meat consumption in the 24-HDR. Remaining study participants were assigned to the group of low-, medium- or high-meat eaters based on energy contributions of total meat intake to total energy intake (meat:energy ratio). Fifteen percentage of the participants were assigned to the low- and high-meat eating groups, and the remaining to the medium-meat eating group. Results: Overall, 4·4 % of the study participants did not consume meat. Compared with medium-meat eaters, no-meat eaters were more likely to be single and users of dietary supplements. Women and high-educated individuals were less likely to be high-meat eaters, whereas overweight and obese individuals were more likely to be high-meat eaters. Total energy intake was similar between the four different meat consumption groups, but no-meat eaters had lowest total protein intake. Conclusions: This study identified important differences in sociodemographic, anthropometric, behavioural and dietary factors between menuCH participants with different meat-eating habits

Combining Recent Nutritional Data with Prospective Cohorts to Quantify the Impact of Modern Dietary Patterns on Disability–Adjusted Life Years: A Feasibility Study

Unhealthy diets are commonly associated with increased disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from noncommunicable diseases. The association between DALYs and dietary patterns can be quantified with individual longitudinal data. This assessment, however, is often based on dietary data collected once at cohort entry, therefore reflecting the impact of “old” dietary habits on morbidity and mortality. To overcome this limitation, we tested the association of contemporary diets with DALYs. First, we defined contemporary dietary patterns consumed in Switzerland with the national nutrition survey menuCH (2014–2015). Second, we identified individuals who consumed similar diets in the NRP–MONICA census-linked cohort (1977–2015). In this cohort, individual data on disease and mortality were used to calculate the DALYs-dietary patterns association using a mixed regression model. A total of 58,771 DALYs from NCDs were recorded in a mean follow-up time of 25.5 years. After multivariable adjustments, the “Swiss traditional” pattern was not associated with an increase in DALYs compared to the “Prudent” pattern. However, individuals following a “Western” pattern had, on average 0.29 DALYs (95% CI 0.02, 0.56) more than those following a “Prudent” pattern, equating to a loss of healthy life of more than three months. These data highlight the feasibility of quantifying the impact of contemporary diets on DALYs without the establishment of new cohorts or the use of nationally aggregated data

Dietary Patterns and Their Sociodemographic and Lifestyle Determinants in Switzerland: Results from the National Nutrition Survey menuCH.

From a public health perspective, determinants of diets are crucial to identify, but they remain unclear in Switzerland. Hence, we sought to define current dietary patterns and their sociodemographic and lifestyle determinants using the national nutrition survey menuCH (2014–2015, n = 2057). First, we applied multiple factorial analysis and hierarchical clustering on the energy-standardised daily consumption of 17 food categories. Four dietary patterns were identified (“Swiss traditional”: high intakes of dairy products and chocolate, n = 744; “Western 1”: soft drinks and meat, n = 383; “Western 2”: alcohol, meat and starchy, n = 444; and “Prudent”: n = 486). Second, we used multinomial logistic regression to examine the determinants of the four dietary patterns: ten sociodemographic or lifestyle factors (sex, age, body mass index, language region, nationality, marital status, income, physical activity, smoking status, and being on a weight-loss diet) were significantly associated with the dietary patterns. Notably, belonging to the French- and Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland increased the odds of following a “Prudent” diet (Odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.92 [1.45–2.53] and 1.68 [0.98–2.90], respectively) compared to the German-speaking regions. Our findings highlight the influence of sociodemographic and lifestyle parameters on diet and the particularities of the language regions of Switzerland. These results provide the basis for public health interventions targeted for population subgroups

Sustainable and healthy diets: Trade-offs and synergies. Final scientific report

This project aimed at analysing trade-offs and synergies between healthy nutrition and sustainable food systems. First, we identified nutritional patters of the Swiss population based on representative consumption data. The health impacts of these nutritional patterns were then analysed based on a review of the scientific literature on health impacts of food commodities and diets and by calculating the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) and Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) of the nutritional patterns. Second, we comprehensively analysed health, environmental, social and economic impacts and related trade-offs and synergies for a number of future scenarios of Swiss agricultural production and food consumption. For this, we used a modelling approach, linking three different models: a global mass flow model, a system dynamics model and an environmentally extended input-output model. We modelled ten different scenarios for the Swiss Food Sector in 2050. These scenarios were either developed in a participatory process during a series of interviews and group discussions with different groups of stakeholders or optimised environmental impacts while at the same time complying with different nutritional and agronomic restrictions. Three main scenarios were analysed with all three models in detail. Among these main scenarios was the SwissFoodPyramid2050 Scenario, which assumes a widespread implementation of the nutritional recommendations according to the Swiss Food Pyramid. The FeedNoFood2050 Scenario assumes an improved use of agricultural land by feeding only grass and by-products to livestock, which was not competing with direct human nutrition, i.e. did not require arable land (neither in Switzerland nor abroad). The third scenario was a reference scenario, which assumes no changes in diets until 2050 and which was used to compare the two alternative scenarios. The other scenarios were targeted at specific questions such as minimizing greenhouse gases. Our results illustrate two visions of how healthy diets and sustainable food systems could look like. Both the SwissFoodPyramid2050 and the FeedNoFood2005 scenarios would require similar dietary changes, such as a reduction of meat consumption and an increase of consumption of pulses. However, there are also fundamental differences between the diets in the two alternative scenarios, e.g. regarding the type of meat consumed. These differences can be interpreted as trade-offs which result from agronomic boundary conditions such as the coupled production of milk and meat, the availability of natural resources, such as grassland and co-products of food processing and health aspects of Swiss diets. Of primary importance in this respect was the use of permanent grasslands and the co-production of veal and beef with dairy production due to environmental reasons and reasons for optimally utilizing available resources. This means, if permanent grassland should be maintained as an ecosystem, dairy production would provide the basis for animal proteins. Thus, while in the FeedNoFood2050 Scenario veal and rather low-quality beef from dairy cows is consumed instead of meat from monogastrics, the SwissFoodPyramid2050 Scenario would result in a higher amount of meat from monogastrics. Our results imply that there is a lack of a comprehensive food systems view in the current discussion on healthy and sustainable diets. Stronger coherence between health, food and agricultural policy is needed to account for systemic boundary conditions and thus to allow for minimising trade-offs and maximise synergies. Current agricultural policies fail to address the health perspective. Financial support for meat and sugar producers, which lead to lower prices for those products and ultimately to a higher consumption than without these policies, are two obvious examples. Yet, comprehensive visions such as the SwissFoodPyramid scenario, the FeedNoFood Scenario or optimised scenarios would require an even more complex policy mix of incentives, regulations and information campaigns. This would probably need an adaptation of the current institutional setting and division of competences between the Federal Offices for Agriculture (FOAG) and for the Environment (FOEN), the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO). A commonly shared vision, including specific goals with respect to how the Swiss food system should look like, is urgently needed. Developing such a vision needs to involve all operators and stakeholders of the food system, as our results imply that more sustainable and healthy diets do not necessarily go along with financial benefits of both producers and consumers. These trade-offs and the knowledge of behavioural economics need to be considered for designing settings which create mutual benefits for operators in the food sector. For instance, neither the majority of consumers, food industry nor agricultural producers can be expected to respond altruistically as an entire sector in the long term. Therefore, policy needs to set financial incentives for internalising environmental and social externalities in order to push and pull the food system towards sustainability. Furthermore, it is crucial to account for agronomic boundary conditions and systemic aspects, such as the role of ruminants in utilizing grasslands and the unavoidable link of milk and meat production

Does diet map with mortality? : Ecological association of dietary patterns with chronic disease mortality and its spatial dependence in Switzerland

We investigated the associations between dietary patterns and chronic disease mortality in Switzerland using an ecological design and explored their spatial dependence, i.e. the tendency of near locations to present more similar and distant locations to present more different values than randomly expected. Data of the National Nutrition Survey menuCH (n 2057) were used to compute hypothesis- (Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)) and data-driven dietary patterns. District-level standardised mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated using the Swiss Federal Statistical Office mortality data and linked to dietary data geographically. Quasipoisson regression models were fitted to investigate the associations between dietary patterns and chronic disease mortality; Moran's I statistics were used to explore spatial dependence. Compared with the first, the fifth AHEI quintile (highest diet quality) was associated with district-level SMR of 0·95 (95 % CI 0·93, 0·97) for CVD, 0·91 (95 % CI 0·88, 0·95) for ischaemic heart disease (IHD), 0·97 (95 % CI 0·95, 0·99) for stroke, 0·99 (95 % CI 0·98, 1·00) for all-cancer, 0·98 (95 % CI 0·96, 0·99) for colorectal cancer and 0·93 (95 % CI 0·89, 0·96) for diabetes. The Swiss traditional and Western-like patterns were associated with significantly higher district-level SMR for CVD, IHD, stroke and diabetes (ranging from 1·02 to 1·08) compared with the Prudent pattern. Significant global and local spatial dependence was identified, with similar results across hypothesis- and data-driven dietary patterns. Our study suggests that dietary patterns partly contribute to the explanation of geographic disparities in chronic disease mortality in Switzerland. Further analyses including spatial components in regression models would allow identifying regions where nutritional interventions are particularly needed

Coumarin C−H Functionalization by Mn(I) Carbonyls : Mechanistic Insight by Ultra-Fast IR Spectroscopic Analysis

Mn(I) C−H functionalization of coumarins provides a versatile and practical method for the rapid assembly of fused polycyclic pyridinium-containing coumarins in a regioselective manner. The synthetic strategy enables application of bench-stable organomanganese reagents in both photochemical- and thermal-promoted reactions. The cyclomanganated intermediates, and global reaction system, provide an ideal testing ground for structural characterization of the active Mn(I) carbonyl-containing species, including transient species observable by ultra-fast time-resolved spectroscopic methods. The thermodynamic reductive elimination product, solely encountered from reaction between alkynes and air-stable organometallic cyclomanganated coumarins, has enabled characterization of a critical seven-membered Mn(I) intermediate, detected by time-resolved infrared spectroscopy, enabling the elucidation of the temporal profile of key steps in the reductive elimination pathway. Quantitative data are provided. Manganated polycyclic products are readily decomplexed by AgBF4, opening-up an efficient route to the formation of π-extended hybrid coumarin-pyridinium compounds

Nachhaltige und gesunde Ernährung: Zielkonflikte und Synergien

Forschungsfragen 1. Wie ernährt sich die Schweizer Bevölkerung derzeit und welche Gesundheits- und Nachhaltigkeitswirkungen gehen davon aus? 2. Wie können Nachhaltigkeit und Gesundheit im Schweizer Ernährungssystem verbessert werden? 3. Welche Zielkonflikte und Synergien gibt es zwischen Nachhaltigkeit und Gesundheit? 4. Welche Empfehlungen können an unterschiedlichen Akteursgruppen gegeben werden, um gesunde und nachhaltige Ernährung zu fördern