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Wu, Olivia Yu-Ping

University of British Columbia

Adopting sustainable eating patterns can help address climate change and manage chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes (T2D). Medical nutrition therapy (MNT) describes evidence-based nutrition interventions provided by registered dietitians and are known to improve T2D outcomes. Health professionals, including dietitians, are well-positioned to influence individual behaviors and systemic factors to promote sustainable eating patterns. As such, MNT for T2D provides opportunities to promote sustainable dietary practices and planetary health. However, it is unclear if sustainability concepts are included in MNT guidelines for T2D. This study aims to explore if and how dietary guidelines used in Canadian MNT for T2D include the domains of sustainability. A systematic grey literature search identified 46 professional resources and 295 patient resources used in Canadian MNT for T2D. Qualitative content analysis of both types of documents was conducted using the Sustainability in Food Based Dietary Guidelines Framework, which specifies five domains of sustainability (Health; Sociocultural; Food Security; Markets; Environment). Five themes were found. First, while the presence of concepts relating to all five sustainability domains were found across the aggregate collection of resources, most messages related to Health and Sociocultural domains. Second, comprehensive inclusion of sustainability domains within individual resources was rare. Third, while dietary recommendations provided in MNT for T2D have implicit benefits and trade-offs to multiple sustainability domains, such connections were rarely explicitly discussed. Fourth, messages framed for improving Food Security and Markets lacked guidance for action. Fifth, resources specific to Indigenous populations contained the most prevalent, abundant, and interconnected representation of sustainability domains. These themes suggest missed opportunities for MNT for T2D to guide professionals towards clinical practices that support planetary health and to support patients’ adoption of sustainable dietary patterns. Paradigmatic shifts towards valuing sustainability in civil society and health care systems and learning from Indigenous perspectives are needed to promote more comprehensive and abundant inclusion of Food Security, Markets, and Environment concepts in MNT guidelines for T2D.

Text

2024-08-15

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/88950

Human Nutrition

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/