Elisabeth HM Temme

National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) | RIVM · Centre for Prevention and Health Services Research (VPZ)

Background: The adverse health effects of high ultra-processed food and drink consumption (UPFD) are well documented. However, its environmental impact remains unclear and the separate effects of ultra-processed foods (UPF) and drinks (UPD) on all-cause mortality are not previously studied. Objectives: To assess the association between levels of...

Background The Healthy Reference Diet (HRD) was created to formulate dietary guidelines that would be healthy and sustainable. We aimed to construct a diet score measuring adherence to the HRD and to explore its association with cardiovascular events and environmental impact. Methods and Results We included 35 496 participants from the population‐...

During the publication process of the original article [1] several corrections were not implemented. The correct and incorrect information is shown in this correction article, the original article has been updated with the correct information. The publisher apologizes to the authors & readers for the inconvenience caused.

Background Reduced meat consumption benefits human and planetary health. Modelling studies have demonstrated the significant health and environmental gains that could be achieved through fiscal measures targeting meat. Adding other interventions may enhance the effect of a fiscal measure. The current study aimed to examine the effect of higher meat...

Objective This study investigates nutritional quality, environmental impact and costs of foods and drinks and their consumption in daily diets according to the degree of processing across the Dutch population. Design The NOVA classification was used to classify the degree of processing (ultra-processed foods (UPF) and ultra-processed drinks (UPD))...

A future sustainable dietary pattern for Japanese is yet undefined. This study aimed to explore more sustainable Japanese diets, that are nutritious, affordable, and with low greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) and particular emphasis on cultural acceptability. A newly developed Data Envelopment Analysis diet model was applied to 4-d dietary record dat...

Background: Seaweed has a high potential for nourishing the future planet. However, besides being beneficial, it also contains adverse components; this poses the question whether consumption of seaweed foods overall contributes beneficially or detrimentally to human health, and hence if their consumption should be promoted or restricted. Methods: T...

An unhealthy dietary pattern is an important risk factor for non-communicable diseases. Front-of-Pack nutritional labels such as Nutri-Score can be used to improve food choices. In addition, products can be improved through reformulation. The current study investigates to what extent Nutri-Score aligns with the Dutch Health Council dietary guidelin...

Background Unhealthy diets, the rise of non-communicable diseases, and the declining health of the planet are highly intertwined, where food production and consumption are major drivers of increases in greenhouse gas emissions, substantial land use, and adverse health such as cancer and mortality. To assess the potential co-benefits from shifting t...

Objectives: To construct a diet-score measuring the level of adherence to the Healthy Reference Diet (HRD), to explore whether adherence to the HRD is associated with coronary heart disease (CHD), all-cause mortality risk, and to calculate its environmental impact. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: The Dutch contribution to the European Pr...

Public health nutrition is the promotion of nutrition-related health of populations. This paper aims to show the essential role of food composition databases for public health nutrition using examples from the Netherlands, and to point to gaps and needs for the future. Food composition databases play a role in the Assessment, Analyses and Action ph...

This study investigated major healthy and sustainable dietary patterns in the Dutch population. Two 24-hour dietary recalls were collected in 2078 participants aged 19–79 years in the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey 2012–2016. Dietary patterns were identified using reduced rank regression. Predictor variables were food groups and response va...

Purpose Recently, an update of the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) method ReCiPe was released: ReCiPe 2016. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of using this update instead of the previous version: ReCiPe 2008. Do the absolute outcomes change significantly and if so, does this lead to different conclusions and result-based recommend...

Background: The current food system has major consequences for the environment and for human health. Alignment of the food policy areas of mitigating climate change and public health will ensure coherent and effective policy interventions for sustaining human health and the environment. This paper explores literature on demand-side policies that ai...

Introduction Food consumption is important for population as well as planetary health. Globally, fresh water is a scarce resource. For both fresh water use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions a risk of exceeding the planetary boundaries exists. Food production accounts for approximately 90% of the global water footprint and for 30% of global greenho...

Background: Implementation of food taxes or subsidies may promote healthier and a more sustainable diet in a society. This study estimates the effects of a tax (15% or 30%) on meat and a subsidy (10%) on fruit and vegetables (F&V) consumption in the Netherlands using a social cost-benefit analysis with a 30-year time horizon. Methods: Calculatio...

Objective To assess the differences in healthy, environmentally sustainable and safe food consumption by education levels among adults aged 19–69 in the Netherlands. Design This study used data from the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey 2007–10. Food consumption data were obtained via two 24-h recalls. Food consumption data were linked to dat...

Food consumption patterns affect the environment as well as public health, and monitoring is needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Dutch food consumption patterns for environmental (greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and blue water use) and health aspects (Dutch Healthy Diet index 2015), according to age, gender, and consumption moments. Fo...

Objective To identify differences in dietary quality, dietary greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and food consumption over 20 years in a Dutch cohort. Design Participants ( n 8932) filled out an FFQ in 1993–1997 and in 2015. The Dutch Healthy Diet index 2015 (DHD15-index) score, GHG emissions and consumption of food groups (g/4184 kJ (1000 kcal)) were...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0268-4 In the version of this Article originally published, in Supplementary Table 7, the energy and land-use values for mealworms in Thevenot et al. were mistakenly swapped. The correct values are 65.39 MJ for energy use and 4.31 m2...

Free access to the article here: https://rdcu.be/bdq1i Altering diets is increasingly acknowledged as an important solution to feed the world’s growing population within the planetary boundaries. In our search for a planet-friendly diet, the main focus has been on eating more plant-source foods, and eating no or less animal-source foods, while the...

Duurzaam en gezond gaan vaak hand in hand bij een meer plantaardig en minder dierlijk voedingspatroon. Integraal beleid is nodig om dit voedingspatroon in ons land te realiseren.

More sustainable dietary patterns are needed to mitigate global warming. This study aims to identify data-driven healthy dietary patterns that benefit the environment. In EPIC-NL, diet was assessed using a 178-item FFQ in 36,203 participants aged 20–70 years between 1993 and 1997. The Dutch Healthy Diet index 2015 (DHD15-index) was used to score he...

Background: The typical Western diet is associated with high levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and with obesity and other diet-related diseases. This study aims to determine the impact of adjustments to the current diet at specific moments of food consumption, to lower GHG emissions and improve diet quality. Methods: Food consumption in t...

The aim of this study was to determine the environmental impact, nutrient intake, appreciation and tastiness of three buffet-style lunches served at the workplace, consisting of (1) animal-based foods; (2) plant-based foods; and (3) both animal-based and plant-based foods. Employees of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in...

Guidelines for a healthy diet aim to decrease the risk of chronic diseases. It is unclear as to what extent a healthy diet is also an environmentally friendly diet. In the Dutch sub-cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, the diet was assessed with a 178-item FFQ of 40 011 participants aged 20–70 years between 19...

Background and objectives: High salt intake increases blood pressure and thereby the risk of chronic diseases. Food reformulation (or food product improvement) may lower the dietary intake of salt. This study describes the changes in salt contents of foods in the Dutch market over a five-year period (2011-2016) and differences in estimated salt in...

Objective To update the Dutch Healthy Diet index, a measure of diet quality, to reflect adherence to the Dutch dietary guidelines 2015 and to evaluate against participants’ characteristics and nutrient intakes with the score based on 24 h recall (24 hR) data and FFQ data. Design The Dutch Healthy Diet index 2015 (DHD15-index) consists of fifteen c...

Objective: To determine the differences in environmental impact and nutrient content of the current Dutch diet and four healthy diets aimed at lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Methods: GHG emissions (as proxy for environmental impact) and nutrient content of the current Dutch diet and four diets adhering to the Dutch food based dietary g...

Objective: Our current food consumption patterns, and in particular our meat and dairy intakes, cause high environmental pressure. The present modelling study investigates the impact of diets with less or no meat and dairy foods on nutrient intakes and assesses nutritional adequacy by comparing these diets with dietary reference intakes. Design:...

Een duurzaam voedselsysteem is een systeem dat voorziet in de voedsel-en voedingsmidde-lenbehoefte van zowel huidige als toekom-stige generaties, waarbij ook de ecologische systemen op aarde worden beschermd. Het huidige voedselsysteem is op wereldschaal verantwoordelijk voor ongeveer 25% van de totale broeikasgasemissies en voor 60% van het verlie...

The environmental sustainability of the Dutch diet Background report to ‘What is on our plate? Safe, healthy and sustainable diets in the Netherlands. A sustainable food system is a system that provides sufficient food and nutrition for all people, considering current as well as future generations. Moreover, in a sustainable food system the ecologi...

What is on our plate? Safe, healthy and sustainable diets in the Netherlands Huge challenges and ambitions Most Dutch people are healthy and life expectancy is growing. Simultaneously, half of the Dutch population is overweight and this rate is even higher in lower socioeconomic groups. In addition, 9 out of 10 people eat too little fruit and veget...

Health councils recommend higher fish consumption because of its associated health benefits. However, overfishing is considered the main threat to marine fisheries. To answer to the global fish demand, cultivated fish production continues to grow and may come with environmental concerns. This study aims to evaluate environmental sustainability and...

Objective: Food has a considerable environmental impact. Diets with less meat and dairy reduce environmental impact but may pose nutritional challenges for children. The current modelling study investigates the impact of diets with less or no meat and dairy products on nutrient intakes. Design: Energy and nutrient intakes were assessed for obser...

Processed foods are major contributors to excessive sodium intake in Western populations. We investigated the effect of food reformulation on daily dietary sodium intake. To determine whether uninformed consumers accept reduced-sodium lunches and to determine the effect of consuming reduced-sodium lunches on 24-hour urinary sodium excretion. A sing...

To evaluate the greenhouse gas emission (GHGE) of diets in Dutch girls, boys, women and men and to explore associations with diet composition. Descriptive analyses for the total population as well as stratified for gender, age and dietary environmental load. The Netherlands. Dutch children and adults aged 7-69 years (n 3818). The GHGE of daily diet...

Purpose: To test the feasibility of tools and procedures for a pan-European food consumption survey among children 0-10 years and to recommend one of two tested dietary assessment methods. Methods: Two pilot studies including 378 children were conducted in Belgium and the Czech Republic in the Pilot studies for Assessment of Nutrient intake and...

Food choices influence health status, but also have a great impact on the environment. The production of animal-derived foods has a high environmental burden, whereas the burden of refined carbohydrates, vegetables and fruit is low. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of greenhouse gas emission (GHGE) and land use of usual die...

Nutrient profiling is an important tool for governments, non-governmental organizations (NGO's) and for the food industry, to help consumers make healthier food choices. Multiple nutrient profiling systems (NPS) have been introduced worldwide. There is, however, no agreement on the use of a single NPS in leading regions like the USA and Europe. In...

Background: The present study aimed to explore associations of physical activity (PA), waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) with subjective health in a nationally representative sample of Belgian adults. Methods: Data from the 2004 Belgian Food Consumption Survey were used. A face-to-face questionnaire about sociodemographic and so...

Objective: Reduction in the current high levels of meat and dairy consumption may contribute to environmental as well as human health. Since meat is a major source of Fe, effects on Fe intake need to be evaluated, especially in groups vulnerable to negative Fe status. In the present study we evaluated the effects of replacing meat and dairy foods...

Environmental and nutritional impact of diets with less meat and dairy – Modeling studies in Dutch children - Volume 72 Issue OCE5 - E. H. M. Temme, H. M. E. Bakker, M. C. C. Brosens, J. Verkaik-Kloosterman, J. M. A. van Raaij, M. C. Ocké

The Dutch'Task Force for the Improvement of the Fatty Acid Composition' initiated fatty acid reformulations in branches using vegetable oils and fats to reduce the trans (TFA) and saturated fatty acid (SFA) content of foods. This study estimates the impact of recent reformulations in the task force food groups by estimating changes in median intake...

Background The Dutch ‘Task Force for the Improvement of the Fatty Acid Composition’ initiated fatty acid reformulations in branches using vegetable oils and fats to reduce the trans(TFA) and saturated fatty acid (SFA) content of foods. Objective This study estimates the impact of recent reformulations in the task force food groups by estimating cha...

Bread is a major contributor to sodium intake in many countries. Reducing the salt (NaCl) content in bread might be an effective way to reduce overall sodium intake. The objectives of this study were to examine the effects of gradually lowering the salt content in brown bread, with and without flavor compensation (KCl and yeast extract), on bread c...

The aim of this study was to assess the dietary intake of nitrate and nitrite in Belgium. The nitrate content of processed vegetables, cheeses and meat products was analysed. These data were completed by data from non-targeted official control and from the literature. In addition, the nitrite content of meat products was measured. Concentration dat...

Health logos are introduced to distinguish foods with 'healthier' nutrient composition from regular foods. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of changed food compositions according to health logo criteria on the intake of saturated fat, sugar and sodium in a Dutch population of young adults. Foods in the Dutch food composition table wer...

Op verzoek van het ministerie van EL&I en het ministerie van VWS heeft het LEI de huidige communicatie vanuit de overheid over de duurzaamheid, gezondheid en veiligheid van voedsel geanalyseerd en verbeterpunten hiervoor geïdentificeerd. De overheid verbetert de betrouwbaarheid en daarmee de effectiviteit van haar communicatie over de duurzaamheid,...

An exposure assessment was performed to estimate the usual daily intake of sulfites in the Belgian adult population. Food consumption data were retrieved from the national food consumption survey. In a first step, individual food consumption data were multiplied with the maximum permitted use levels for sulfites, expressed as sulphur dioxide, per f...

Belgium until recently lacked a systematic survey of dietary habits of its inhabitants. The present study evaluated dietary composition in Belgium with respect to energy and macronutrient intakes. Information on food intake was collected using a repeated non-consecutive 24 h recall (2-8 weeks apart) with the validated software package EPIC-SOFT, in...

In May 2006, the Choices Programme was launched in The Netherlands – products can qualify for a health stamp by meeting pre-set nutritional criteria. Currently, more than 120 partners in food manufacturing, retail and catering have joined the initiative. There is an increasing recognition and appreciation of the health stamp by consumers. Moreover,...

The objective of this study was to compare food group intakes among preschool children with food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) and to determine the proportion of children meeting these guidelines. Food consumption of preschool children (2.5-6.5 years) living in Flanders (Belgium) were assessed in a cross-sectional study, using proxy reported 3d e...

In opdracht van de ministeries van LNV en VWS geeft dit rapport een aantal aanbod- en productgeoriënteerde interventies die door overheden toegepast kunnen worden om Nederlandse consumenten te verleiden tot gezonder eet- en leefgedrag. Achterliggend doel is om met kwalitatief beter voedsel en een beter consumptiepatroon een bijdrage te leveren aan...

Within- and between-person variation in nutrient intakes has been characterized in adult populations, but little is known about variation in the diet of pre-school-aged children. The aim of this study was to describe dietary variations in Flemish pre-schoolers and to estimate the number of record days required for studying diet-disease associations...

To evaluate the gap between food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) and the usual food consumption in Belgium. Information on food intake was collected with two non-consecutive 24 h recalls, using the validated software package EPIC-SOFT in combination with a self-administered FFQ. Habitual food intake was estimated by the Nusser method. Physical acti...

To investigate the effect of simultaneous administration of [6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid ([6S]-5-CH(3)H(4)PteGlu) with L-ascorbic acid (L-AA) on serum folate concentrations in healthy male subjects. A total of nine healthy male volunteers were recruited. Serum folate concentrations were measured before and up to 8 h after administration of eac...

Stevioside (250-mg capsules) was given thrice daily for 3 days to 10 healthy subjects. Blood samples were collected and blood pressure measured after nocturnal fasting, before and at different time points during the third day of the administration of stevioside. No significant differences were found between the control and the stevioside condition...

Stevioside (250 mg capsules) was given three times daily to 10 healthy subjects. Steviol glucuronide (steviol 19-O-beta-D-glucopyranosiduronic acid; MM, 494.58; melting point, 198-199 degrees C) was characterized in the 24 h urine as the only excretion product of oral stevioside by MS, NMR, IR, and UV spectroscopy. This is the first report on the u...

To examine the effects of vitamin C supplementation on the concentration of oxidation markers, in particular, circulating oxidized LDL (OxLDL) and on endothelial activation markers. Randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial. Belgian population of the city of Leuven. A total of 34 healthy male smokers aged 26-73 y. Smokers were ran...