Episode 17: Harvard Walter Willett MD DrPH - What Is The Best Diet for Health and the Environment?

Walter Willett, MD and DrPH is Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and served as Chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard for 25 years. Much of Walter Willett’s work has focused on the effects of diet on the occurrence of major diseases among nearly 300,000 men and women who he has followed for up to 40 years. He has published over 2,000 research papers and has written the textbook, Nutritional Epidemiology, and four books for the general public. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

 

TOPICS EXPLORED

0:00 – 1:20 – Introduction

1:20 – 2:20 – Can you tell me about your background and how you became interested in our food system?

2:20 – 4:15 – You have published over 2,000 scientific articles. What are some of the key research studies you have been involved with during your career and their findings?

4:15 – 5:19 – What are some of the leading causes of disease and death in the United States, and how can people improve their health?

5:19 – 6:51 – How have diets in the United States and the world been changing and what are some of the public health risks people face due to current dietary trends?

6:51 – 9:24 – The US Department of Agriculture created the Food Pyramid and more recently MyPlate. How does industry influence what appears in these government-created guides and what are some of MyPlate’s shortcomings?

9:24 – 11:17 – What is the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate and how does it address some of the shortcomings of the US Department of Agriculture MyPlate?

11:17 – 13:04 – Can you tell me more about unhealthy fats versus healthy fats people should be consuming?

13:04 – 17:21 – How do sugar and processed foods cause harm?

17:21 – 20:44 – You served as the co-chair of the EAT Lancet Commission which brought together over 30 researchers from around the world to define an optimally healthy diet from an environmentally sustainable food system. Can you share some of the key findings of the EAT Lancet Commission?

20:44 – 23:11 – There are some who are critics of the Planetary Health Diet, the dietary guidelines that arose from the Eat Lancet Commission. What are some of these criticisms, and what do you think is important for people to know so that they can choose a diet that is healthy for them and the planet?

23:11 – 25:46 – Social media has contributed to misconceptions about eating vegetables. Some of this relates to anti-nutrients such as oxalates. What are anti-nutrients and why are vegetables a critical part of a healthy diet?

25:46 – 28:11 – Some people claim that it is not possible to have a healthy diet without animal-based protein. Is it possible, and how can people avoid any potential nutritional deficiencies?

28:11 – 29:19 – What are you most proud of so far in your career in medicine, nutrition, and public health?

29:19 – 30:35 – Things to share and wrap up

 

WALTER WILLETT MD DRPH INFORMATION

Walter Willett MD DrPH Academic Profile: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/profile/walter-c-willett/

 

RESOURCES

Harvard Healthy Eating Plate: https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/healthy-eating-plate/

Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31788-4/abstract

EAT Lancet Commission Summary Report: https://eatforum.org/content/uploads/2019/07/EAT-Lancet_Commission_Summary_Report.pdf

 

FOOD FOR YOU AND THE PLANET PODCAST INFORMATION

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Podcast Instagram: @foodforyouandtheplanet

 

TAGS

Food

Environment

Health

Podcast

Sustainability

Walter Willett

Harvard Healthy Eating Plate

EAT Lancet Commission

Planetary Health Diet

Agriculture

Climate Change