Hidden Health and Environmental Costs of Dutch Diets

A study quantifies the hidden costs of suboptimal dietary patterns in the Netherlands. It estimates EUR 410 million in productivity losses and up to EUR 1.8 billion in DALY-related health costs, plus EUR 3.0 billion in annual environmental costs. The analysis uses Dutch National Food Consumption Survey data from 2019–2021 and compares the lowest and highest quintiles of adherence to dietary guidelines.

Use Cases

• Estimate productivity losses using the Human Capital Approach based on adherence quintiles to the Dutch Healthy Diet index 2015 (DHD15).
• Calculate monetized environmental costs across six indicators, including greenhouse gas emissions and land use, for different dietary adherence groups.
• Compare the economic valuation of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) between the lowest (Q1) and highest (Q5) quintiles of dietary guideline adherence.
• Analyze food consumption data from the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey to model costs associated with diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Strengths

• Provides specific monetary cost estimates, including EUR 410 million in productivity losses and EUR 3.0 billion in environmental costs.
• Analysis is based on a nationally representative survey, the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey (DNFCS) 2019–2021.
• Evaluates environmental impact across six distinct monetized indicators, such as greenhouse gas emissions and blue water consumption.

Limitations

• The underlying dataset is not provided in a tabular format; the primary output is a 232.7 KB PDF report, limiting direct computational analysis.
• The analysis is specific to the Dutch adult population aged 20–79 years, limiting generalizability to other countries or age groups.
• Cost estimates are model-derived and depend on specific methodological choices like the Human Capital Approach and environmental shadow prices.

Provenance

Source

Dutch National Food Consumption Survey (DNFCS) 2019–2021.

Collection Method

Dietary adherence assessed using the Dutch Healthy Diet index 2015 (DHD15); costs estimated via Human Capital Approach and environmental shadow prices.

Time Range

2019–2021.

Freshness

Data is based on the 2019–2021 survey period, with the study last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Netherlands.