Eat Well to Fight Obesity… and Save Water: The Water Footprint of Different Diets and Caloric Intake and Its Relationship With Adiposity
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Frontiers Research Foundation
Materia
Water footprint Diet Dietary patterns Obesity Caloric intake Sustainable diets Healthy diets Mexico
Date
2021-07-01Referencia bibliográfica
Lares-Michel M... [et al.] (2021) Eat Well to Fight Obesity… and Save Water: The Water Footprint of Different Diets and Caloric Intake and Its Relationship With Adiposity. Front. Nutr. 8:694775. doi: [10.3389/fnut.2021.694775]
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Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACyT) 717186 (CVU 934420)Abstract
Water scarcity and excess adiposity are two of the main problems worldwide and in
Mexico, which is the most obese country in the world and suffers from water scarcity.
Food production represents 90% of a person’s water footprint (WF), and healthy diets
can lead to less WF than do unhealthy diets related to obesity. We calculated the WF
of the diet and caloric intake of adults in Mexico and analyzed its relationship with
adiposity. Also, the risk of water expenditure due to adiposity and adherence to dietary
recommendations regarding WF of international healthy diets were examined. A Food
Consumption Frequency Questionnaire (FCFQ) was applied to 395 adults. Body mass
index (BMI), associated with adiposity indicators, was used as a reference for grouping
a sample into adiposity levels. The WF was calculated according to the WF Assessment
Method, considering correction factors and accounting for water involved in cooking and
food washing. Our results showed that the Mexican diet spends 6,056 liters per person
per day (L p−1d−1) and is 55%higher than international healthy diets WF. Consumption of
beef, milk, fruits, chicken, and fatty cereals represented 56% of total WF. Strong relations
appeared between hypercaloric diets and high WF. Diets of people with excess adiposity
generated statistically higher WF with extra expenses of 729 L p−1d−1 compared with the
normal adiposity population. Following nutritional recommendations offers a protective
factor in water care, whereas not adhering to these represents a risk up to 93 times
greater of water expenditure regarding international healthy diets. Therefore, both for the
general population and to regulate obesity, adequate diets can help mitigate the problem
of water scarcity.