The potential impact of increased whole grain consumption among Chinese adults on reducing healthcare costs and carbon footprint

Abstract

Excessive consumption of refined grains harms human health and ecosystem viability. Whole grains, as a healthy and sustainable alternative to refined grains, can benefit individual health by providing dietary fiber, B vitamins, and bioactive substances. Additionally, they aid in improving the environment due to their higher extraction rate and lower carbon emission during the processing stage. However, few studies have attempted to evaluate the economic and social benefits of increasing the amount of whole grain in grain intake. This paper estimates the potential savings in healthcare costs and reduced food carbon footprints (CFs) that could result from a shift toward whole grain consumption following the Chinese Dietary Guidelines (CDG). We investigate hypothetical scenarios where a certain proportion (5–100%) of Chinese adults could increase their whole grain intakes as proposed by CDG to meet the average shortfall of 30.2 g. In that case, the healthcare costs for associated diseases (e.g., type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), cardiovascular disease (CVD), and colorectal cancer (CRC)) are expected to reduce by a substantial amount, from USD 2.82 to 56.37 billion; the carbon emission levels are also projected to decrease by 0.24–5.72 million tons. This study provides compelling evidence that advocating for the transition towards greater consumption of whole grain products could benefit individual health, the environment, and society, by reducing both healthcare costs and carbon emissions.

Keywords

• whole grains
• cost analysis
• public health
• life cycle assessment (LCA)
• carbon footprint