Food systems interact through multiple dimensions including food security, nutrition, and planetary health. This study aims to associate different dietary patterns with sustainable lifestyles in Latin America and Spain. This was an observational, analytical, multicenter, cross-sectional survey study, with a total of 6412 participants. A self-administered questionnaire was developed in an online format in the Google Docs interface. The questionnaire was divided into sections: (1) sociodemographic background: country of residence, age, sex, educational level, socioeconomic aspects, and place of residence; (2) body mass index classification; (3) dietary patterns (Western, vegetarian, vegan, ketogenic, Mediterranean, prudent, or paleolithic diets); and (4) the Sustainable Lifestyles Survey. Multivariate models were applied to adjust for potential confounding factors. The mean age of the participants was 35.2 years (SD 12.7). The majority of participants identified their dietary pattern as omnivorous (41.5%), followed by the Western diet (21.7%) and the Mediterranean diet (12.7%). Plant-based, vegan (β: 14.90; 95% CI: 9.75–20.05), and lacto egg (β: 12.08; 95% CI: 8.57–15.58) diets are significantly associated with a higher sustainability score compared to an omnivorous diet. In contrast, a Western diet is inversely associated (β: −5.63; 95% CI: −7.20 to −4.06). Finally, a vegan (Sub-score 1: β: 6.19; 95% CI: 4.43–7.96) diet is consistently associated with higher levels of sustainability in all areas assessed. In contrast, the Western diet shows a significant negative association with sustainability in all subcomponents assessed. Conclusions: Plant-based dietary patterns were shown to be associated with sustainable lifestyles, with the vegan diet having the greatest association, while the Western dietary pattern was inversely associated.

Background: Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption has increased significantly in Latin America and Spain, impacting both health and environmental sustainability. To our knowledge, this is the first multicenter study to examine the association between UPF consumption and sustainable lifestyle behaviors in Latin America and Spain. Objective: To evaluate the association between UPF consumption and sustainable lifestyle behaviors in Latin America and Spain. Methods: This was an observational, analytical, multicenter, cross-sectional study. A validated, self-administered online questionnaire was distributed in 14 countries between March 2023 and January 2024. The survey collected sociodemographic data, UPF intake (classified using the NOVA system), body mass index and sustainable lifestyle behaviors (food, transport, environment). Multivariate linear regression models were applied to assess associations, adjusting for age, sex, smoking, physical activity and BMI. Results: Among 6009 adults (mean age: 34.98 ± 12.55; 79.5% women), those with the highest consumption of UPF (fast food, beverages and juices, salty snacks and sweet snacks) were significantly more likely to be in the least sustainable quartile compared to those who did not consume these food products ((OR = 2.51; 95% CI: 1.79–3.54), (OR = 1.82; 95% CI: 1.50–2.22), (OR = 1.51; 95% CI: 1.32–1.73) and (OR = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.20–1.67), respectively, with p values < 0.001). Conclusions: High consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is inversely associated with sustainable lifestyles. These findings position UPF consumption not only as a health problem but also as a key indicator of unsustainable lifestyles.

La obesidad promueve el desarrollo de ECV, sarcopenia, deficiencia de vitamina D, lo cual puede empeorar la calidad de vida (CV). EL objetivo fue determinar la calidad de la dieta, nivel de actividad física (AF) y horas de sueño en pacientes obesos y su relación con el riesgo cardiovascular, fuerza muscular (FM), niveles de vitamina D y CV. El estudio de diseño observacional analítico de corte transversal en el que se evaluaron 43 adultos de ambos sexos con diagnóstico de obesidad que acudieron a un consultorio clínico privado de la Ciudad de Luque – Paraguay. Se evaluaron variables sociodemográficas, antropométricas, circunferencia de cintura, FM, niveles de vitamina D, calidad de la dieta, AF, horas de sueño y CV. Para explorar correlación entre las variables se aplicó la prueba del coeficiente de correlación de Pearson. Aproximadamente 3 de cada 4 pacientes fueron mujeres y la edad promedio fue de 38,02±9,36 años. Nueve de cada 10 tuvo riesgo cardiovascular alto y casi la mitad mostró FM y nivel de AF bajas. Más de ¾ presentaron niveles de vitamina D deseables y dieta poco saludable. Más de la mitad estuvo moderadamente ansioso/deprimido y tenía horas insuficientes de sueño. Se evidenció una correlación positiva entre la calidad de la dieta y el Índice de CV, la AF y horas de sueño con la FM y el Índice de CV. Los pacientes con mayores valores en calidad de la dieta, nivel de AF y horas de sueño presentaron mayor índice de Calidad de Vida.