SHIFTING TO A RECOMMENDED DIETARY PATTERN COULD PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH

With the rapid development of China's economy, Chinese people tend to eat foods rich in fat, sugar and protein. This change in dietary pattern has brought double challenges to China's sustainable development of environment and human health. So it has become urgent for the nation to shift to a healthy and sustainable dietary pattern. Based on the China Health and Nutrition Survey database, this study used K-means cluster analysis to classify China's existing dietary patterns into quasi-southern, quasi-northern and quasi-western patterns. Two alternative recommended dietary patterns, Chinese dietary and planet health patterns, were selected to compare the effects of environment and health. The results show that a shift from the three existing dietary patterns to two alternative dietary patterns could enhance sustainable development of environment, especially for the quasi-western pattern shifting to the planet health pattern. Also, a shift would have of great benefits for human health, effectively reduce the relative risks of diseases such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. The greatest benefits would come from shifting the quasi-western pattern benefits to one of the two alternative dietary patterns in terms of environment effects, and the quasi-southern pattern benefits most in terms of health effects. Shifting to the planet health pattern is more effective than the Chinese dietary pattern both in environment and human health. This paper provides policy recommendations to vigorously advocate dietary balance, scientifically promote dietary patterns, and change consumer dietary behavior.