Global dietary estimates for conducting health, environmental and economic impact assessments

Dietary intake has important implications for health, the environment and the economy. However, current global estimates of food intake are uncertain and incomplete. Here we develop a Global Dietary Database for Impact Assessments (GDD-IA) that combines data sources on regional food availability and food waste estimates, socio-demographic variation in intake from dietary surveys and energy intake estimates based on measurements of body weight, height and physical activity. The GDD-IA covers food intake of 43 food groups by country, age, sex and urban/rural residence across five-year periods between 1990 and 2020. It is designed for dietary impact assessments that require coverage of complete diets, absolute food intake levels that minimize risk of over or underestimation and regional comparability with granular socio-demographic detail. We illustrate the advantages of using the GDD-IA over unadjusted dietary-survey and food availability estimates by assessing the health burden, environmental resource use and food costs related to diets.