WORLD HEALTH DAY - Health For The People And Sustainability For The Planet

“The world is facing a serious food situation, but the Sustainable Development Goals offer an unprecedented opportunity to change things”, explained Gabriele Riccardi, Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases at the “Federico II” University in Naples and member of the BCFN Advisory Board. “ Still today, for every malnourished person in the world, there are two overweight or obese people. We are talking about people who face a higher likelihood to fall ill than the others, because there are diseases that are influenced by the food models we adopt: diabetes, heart disease, and chronic disease, to name but a few. However, we were to begin at the table, adopting sustainable diets, like the Mediterranean diet, we could take a significant step in the fight against these illnesses", concluded Riccardi. In fact, food and health are closely related.

According to the Food Sustainability Index, adopting a traditional diet like the Mediterranean diet can guarantee a healthy long life, because it can slow down DNA aging. It is estimated that, compared to other food models, closely following this diet can translate into circa 4.5 additional years of life expectancy. Let us not forget, furthermore, that choosing healthy lifestyles and sustainable diets is not only good for our health, but also for the health of our planet. A good tool to begin finding your way towards a healthy and sustainable food system is the double Food and Environment Pyramid created by the BCFN Foundation. The Double Pyramid shows the direct relation linking two aspects of each food: its nutritional value and the environmental impact generated by its production and consumption. The foods with the lowest environmental impact are also those recommended by nutritionists for our health, and those with a high environmental footprint should be consumed in moderation. The health of a population has an impact on many areas.
We can begin change at our tables!