‘Planet-friendly’ foods help improve cardiovascular health in teens

Eating “planet-friendly” foods may result in better cardiovascular (CV) health in adolescents, according to a study involving European participants.

A team of investigators used data from the HELENA study to examine the relationship between adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet and CV health among European adolescents. They assessed usual dietary intake using two 24-h dietary recalls and adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet using the Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI), a 16-component index ranging from 0 to 150 points.

The investigators also evaluated CV health using the seven-component Ideal Cardiovascular Health (ICH) score: never smoked, eutrophic body mass index, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, healthy dietary pattern, low blood pressure, low fasting plasma glucose, and low total cholesterol. Total ICH score was classified as either ideal (5‒7) or nonideal (0‒4).

After adjusting for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and total energy intake, an increase of 10 points in the PHDI resulted in a reduced chance of a nonideal ICH status (odds ratio [OR], 0.84, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.75‒0.94) among European adolescents.

A 10-point increment in PHDI also correlated with reduced odds of high blood pressure (OR, 0.87, 95 percent CI, 0.79‒0.96) and high blood cholesterol (OR, 0.88, 95 percent CI, 0.78‒0.99).

“Our study suggests that a higher PHDI may be associated with a better CV health status among European adolescents,” the investigators said.

In 2019, “[t]he EAT-Lancet Commission proposed a global reference diet to promote healthy diets within planetary boundaries,” they noted.