Study to show correlation between kid’s eating habits and climate change - CQUniversity

A snapshot of eating habits from a cohort of Rockhampton school children hopes to provide insight into the impact diet has on the environment.

Fullbright scholar from Brigham Young University in Utah, Professor Lori Anderson Spruance has recently arrived at CQUniversity in Rockhampton to roll out this study which will look at the correlation between what young people eat and climate change.

"We already know that the food sector contributes significantly to climate change, but what we want to understand is how specifically our dietary behaviours contribute to greenhouse gas emissions," explained Ms Anderson Spruance.

Ms Anderson Spruance is in the process of recruiting 100 students from a local Rockhampton school to participate in her study which will involve collecting data via a 24-hour dietary survey.

"The study will link the data collected with a greenhouse gas emissions database to determine the environmental impact of the children's diet," she explained.

"Given that little research has been conducted examining children's diets and greenhouse gas emissions in regions outside of the United States and Europe, more research is needed within other regions in the world to understand this phenomenon."

Ms Anderson Spruance said researchers in the Netherlands estimate that the daily average greenhouse gas emissions for children there was between 3.2-3.6 kg of CO2.

She said researchers examining school meals and their environmental impacts in the United States calculated the mean global warming potential of each school lunch to be 1.5kg of CO2 equivalents, whereas in the UK, the mean greenhouse gas emissions value for one school lunch is estimated to be 0.72 kg of CO2.

"Given that Rockhampton is the beef capital of Australia, it will be interesting to learn if this has an impact on diet, and therefore the environment.

"We know that diets with higher meat content and also those with more processed foods contribute more to greenhouse gas emissions.

"Changing eating habits to include more plant-based foods and less processed items could potentially have a positive effect on both human health and the environment."

It is anticipated that the study will provide recommendations to the school and its students regarding their eating habits.

Ms Anderson Spruance has been working at CQUniversity alongside CQUniversity's nutrition expert Dr Sue William.

She hopes through her Fullbright Scholarship at CQUniversity it could lead to further collaborative research with the University.

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