Evaluation of the knowledge and attitudes of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change employees on sustainable nutrition

The concept of sustainable nutrition, which has increased in importance recently, aims the health of present and future individuals, and everyone's access to sufficient, safe and low-environmental impact foods. In this study, it is aimed to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change employees on sustainable nutrition. A total of 240 individuals participated in the study. The questionnaire includes the individual's sociodemographic information, nutritional habits, Sustainable and Healthy Eating Behaviors Scale, Mediterranean Diet Adherence Scale, 24-hour food consumption record, food consumption frequency and Diet Quality Index. Height and body weights of individuals were recorded and body mass indexes were calculated. 59.6% of the participants were women, 40.4% were men, and the mean age was 40.96±9.32 years. 69.6% of the individuals have undergraduate, 20.8% graduate, 9.6% high school or below education level. Only 23.3% of the participants have heard of the concept of sustainable nutrition before. According to the MEDAS score, the adaptation of the individuals to the Mediterranean diet is moderate, while the Diet Quality Index levels are slightly above the moderate level. Sustainable and Healthy Eating Behavior General Scale scores of the participants do not differ in BMI groups. The average of the Sustainable and Healthy Eating General Scale of the participants who thought they were eating healthy was higher. There is a strong relationship between the Sustainable and Healthy Eating Behavior Scale score of individuals and the reduction of meat consumption and their MEDAS scores. According to the food consumption record, the total energy and carbohydrate consumption of the participants were below the TUBER reference values, their total fat consumption was above the reference, and their total protein consumption was within the appropriate reference range. As a result, a positive and significant relationship was found between the MEDAS scores of the participants and their Sustainable and Healthy Eating Behaviors. Key Words: Mediterranean Diet, Food Consumption, Diet Quality, Sustainable Nutrition.