PhD defence by Constanza Monteiro

Principal supervisor:

• Senior Researcher Sara M. Pires

Co-supervisors:

• Senior Researcher Jeanne-Marie Membré
• Researcher Sofie Theresa Thomsen

Examiners:

• Professor Tine Hald,  DTU Food
• Professor Francesco Branca, Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva
• Professor Jørgen Dejgård Jensen, University of Copenhagen

Chairperson at defence:

• Senior Researcher Lea Sletting Jakobsen

Resume
Food choices influence our health and, indirectly, the whole food supply chain. Policies affecting food consumption, public health, and environmental outcomes depend on multiple factors. Thus, without the support of appropriate information and tools, especially research evidence that measures trade-offs across the various dimensions of food systems, decision-making can be complex and overwhelming. To address this, improving frameworks that provide scientific advice on health and more broadly on risk evaluation of food systems is needed to better inform decision-making processes.

The overall aim of this thesis was to advance methodologies of health and risk assessment frameworks, enhancing their applicability to inform policy decisions. The thesis revisits well-established methodologies used in the evaluation of health or health-economic impacts associated with food consumption and expands them for quantifying trade-offs associated with different food consumption scenarios.

This research looks at how we can improve the way scientific advice is generated by using a systems thinking approach. Through a case study on lentil consumption in France, a new approach combining methods from health and economic assessments was developed. This approach is useful to evaluate the health benefits and assess whether price interventions can help achieving healthier food consumption habits. In addition, using another case study examining the health impacts of reducing sodium intake in Japan, this PhD thesis compares outputs from two different modelling approaches, incorporating or not time dynamics into the models. Results from this second case study emphasize assumptions, strengths, and limitations of each method when informing long-term public health strategies.

This research work contributes to support evidence-informed decisions that promote sustainable and healthy diets.

A copy of the PhD thesis is available for reading at the department.