How Planetary Diet Curbs Diabetes Risk and Shrinks Carbon Emission

October 1, 2025 13

High commitment to flexitarian diet cuts diabetes risk by 32% and greenhouse gas emissions by 18%.

How Planetary Diet Curbs Diabetes Risk and Shrinks Carbon Emission

Planetary Healthy Diet (PHD) recommends for high adherence to plant-based foods with more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, less processed meat and less sweet beverages, which can prevent type 2 diabetes, while reducing the environmental harm by narrowing carbon emissions (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
The association of the planetary health diet with type 2 diabetes incidence and greenhouse gas emissions: Findings from the EPIC-Norfolk prospective cohort study

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The data is based on a study published in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Solomon Sowah and colleagues from the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. The study shows the impact of unhealthy food is harmful to our ecosystem. However, the data on the effects of limited animal-derived food has been unpredictable.

Statistical Findings on the Impact of Planetary Diet

In this study, researchers analyzed dietary data from more than 23,000 people in the UK taken at three timepoints across 20 years. They found that higher adherence to the PHD was associated with lower incidence of type 2 diabetes—participants in the top fifth of adherence had a 32% lower incidence of type 2 diabetes compared to those in the bottom fifth.

Higher adherence to the PHD was also associated with lower greenhouse emissions—among those in the top fifth of adherence, greenhouse gas emissions were 18% lower compared to those in the bottom fifth.

Promoting Plant-Based Diets: A Win-Win Approach

The researchers recognize that while the study does not show a direct causal link between the PHD and type 2 diabetes, promoting healthier plant-based diets could be an important strategy to simultaneously prevent type 2 diabetes while reducing the negative impact of diet on the environment.

Dr. Solomon Sowah says, “Our motivation for this study was to address the limited evidence regarding the association between the planetary health diet and both type 2 diabetes incidence and greenhouse gas emissions in a European population.”

“We found that the planetary health diet containing higher amounts of wholegrains, fruits and vegetables, and lower amounts of red and processed meat and sugary drinks was associated with lower type 2 diabetes incidence and lower diet-related greenhouse gas emissions.”

A Call to Action for Both Individuals and Policy Makers

Prof. Nita Forouhi, senior author of the study, says, “These findings provide support for the potential of the planetary health diet to make a meaningful contribution to help prevent type 2 diabetes.”

“What’s more is that eating in line with the planetary health diet is also linked with a lower environmental impact. So, it offers a win-win to potentially help improve both human and planetary health.”

“Action will be needed from all players, including individuals and policy makers to enable food consumption aligned with this dietary approach.”

Reference:

The association of the planetary health diet with type 2 diabetes incidence and greenhouse gas emissions: Findings from the EPIC-Norfolk prospective cohort study – (https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004633)

Source-Eurekalert