Leveraging Change towards Sustainable and Healthy Diets

PhD defence by Lea Ellen Matthiessen

Assessment Committee

Professor Inge Tetens, NEXS, University of Copenhagen (Chairperson)
Professor Stefan Wahlen, Justus-Liebig University Giessen
Senior Researcher Sara Monteiro Pires, Technical University of Denmark

Supervisors

Professor Susanne Gjedsted Bügel
Professor Jørgen Dejgård Jensen
Associate Professor Sinne Smed

Department

Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports

Place

Building: Gimle, Room: Auditorie A-37.11 Gimle, Grundtvigsvej 14, 1958 Frederiksberg

Email address to gain access to the thesis: lem@nexs.ku.dk.
You will either receive a copy of the thesis or be informed where you can read a physical copy.
Recipients of copies of the thesis are not allowed to share or distribute it due to copyright compliance.

Short description of the thesis

How do food environments shape healthy and sustainable diets? Food systems are crucial for human health and the environment, yet dietary patterns challenge both. Taking a food systems perspective, this PhD explores food consumption in Danish households and public food procurement. Across three studies, it examines the interplay between dietary composition, organic food, food waste and attitudes towards dietary change, asking which changes have the greatest transformative potential. Findings highlight the importance of environments, cultural norms and institutional arrangements. Organic food emerges as a cross-cutting element associated with more plant-rich diets and broader organizational change. Where should we start – on the plate, in the kitchen or at the city hall?