A Comparative Study Between the Dietary Pattern in Argentina and International Recommendations

• Autores: Hunziker, Carola Isabel; Arrieta, Ezequiel Martín; Díaz, María Pilar; Leon, Alberto Edel
• Año de publicación: 2025
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: ENVIROMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY; FOOD SYSTEM; NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

Current food systems pose serious threats to both human health and environmental sustainability. Market forces stimulate food production to such an extent that life on Earth is endangered, and an eating pattern based on calorie-dense, nutrient-poor, and ultra-processed foods is promoted. In terms of health, this situation has caused obesity to become a pandemic, which is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases, one of the current leading causes of death. The EAT-Lancet Commission (EAT-LC) argues that providing a growing world population with healthy diets through sustainable food systems is an immediate challenge. Thus, we propose to compare: (a) the consumption patterns described by this commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (LA&C) with those determined for Argentina; (b) Argentine dietary habits with the healthy and sustainable dietary pattern proposed by the EAT-LC; and (c) the availability of each food group in Argentina with the pattern proposed by the EAT-LC. A total of 11 food groups proposed by the Commission were taken as a reference. The dietary patterns described by the EAT-LC for LA&C are not representative of Argentina, where meat consumption is much higher (200%) and legume consumption is lower (78%). Very marked differences are observed between the consumption pattern in Argentina and the recommendations made by the EAT-LC. Regarding food availability, Argentina exceeds the requirements for meat (13.4 times), starchy vegetables (2.4 times), and eggs (2.3 times); by contrast, it does not reach the levels proposed for other products such as vegetables, nuts, legumes, or fish. Promoting a change in the eating habits of the population from a human-rights perspective represents an enormous challenge. The main aim of this work is to take a first step towards that transformation by comparing international recommendations for health and sustainability—paying special attention to culture-specific aspects—and dietary patterns in Argentina.
Fil: Hunziker, Carola Isabel. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Escuela de Nutrición; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud; Argentina
Fil: Arrieta, Ezequiel Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; Argentina
Fil: Díaz, María Pilar. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Escuela de Nutrición; Argentina
Fil: Leon, Alberto Edel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Cátedra de Química Biológica; Argentina