Nordic Nutrition Recommendations Associated with Longer Life
Nordic nutritional recommendations 2023 emphasize the reduction in meat consumption and the increase in the consumption of vegetables, fruits and berries, cereals, nuts and pulses. New research from the University of Aarhus, the Aarhus University Hospital, the Karolinska Institute and the University of Copenhagen show that following them are directly linked to the drop in mortality.
Nordic nutritional recommendations with 2023 food also take into account the environmental impact of the diet, as measured by greenhouse gas emissions, land use, use of water and the use of nitrogen and phosphorus. Image credit: Serp Pae.
The diet is a major contributor to climate change: around 30% of greenhouse gas emissions come from our current consumption and food production.
Nordic nutritional recommendations 2023 are designed to balance human health with sustainability.
“Our study shows that in Swedish middle men and women who follow the directives, mortality is 23% lower than those who do not – even when factors such as education, income and physical activity are taken into account,” said PH.D. of the University of Aarhus. Student Anne Bak Mørch.
“The study also reveals a decrease in the mortality of cancer and cardiovascular disease in those who are the best to respect the directives.”
In the study, the researchers examined data of more than 76,000 Swedish men and women in two major population studies: the Swedish mammography cohort and the cohort of Swedish men.
Since 1997, participants have reported their eating and lifestyle habits, offering a single base to explore the link between food and health.
“The results are important for human and planetary health,” said Dr. Christina Dahm of the University of Aarhus.
“Our results are relevant in the Nordic and Baltic countries, as national food directives are based on Nordic nutritional recommendations.”
“We show that the continuation of the directives as a whole benefits public health.”
“But our results also go further: because the recommendations take into account the nutritional value and the impact of the climate, our research shows that a sustainable Nordic regime benefits public health and climate – and could serve as a model for other sustainable regional regimes in the world.”
“The study confirms that we can follow a Nordic diet to improve both our health and the climate.”
“It remains to be seen whether the diet affects other results for health, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer.”
“We hope to investigate this in a next study.”
The results were published in the Journal of Nutrition.
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Anne B. Mørch and al. Development of the diet score of Nordic nutritional recommendations 2023 and its association with mortality all causes combined in two Swedish cohorts. Journal of Nutritionpublished online on July 3, 2025; DOI: 10.1016 / J.TJNUT.2025.06.030
