A man in a red, long-sleeve top, light-blue jeans, and a navy baseball cap, is leaning over to pick yellow peppers from their plants with his right arm outstretched. The man is surrounded by tall, green pepper plants and is carrying three yellow peppers in his left arm.

Revealing the hidden links between climate and diet

Through advanced data analysis and global food-system modelling, we’re informing the choices that will shape health for generations.

We are uncovering how rising temperatures influence what people eat, how they adapt during heat, and who is most affected – generating evidence that supports healthier, more sustainable food systems in a warming world.

Climate change is reshaping more than landscapes and weather patterns – it is altering the everyday decisions people make about what they eat, how they adapt, and the health risks they face.

Our researchers are revealing these connections with unprecedented clarity, using large-scale datasets to understand how rising temperatures influence dietary behaviour and amplify existing inequalities.

Diets in a warming world

Our research is revealing climate-driven health risks and inequalities, especially for those in lower-income households.

This evidence will help policymakers design healthier, more resilient food systems.

Discovery today. Impact for generations.

Discover the Net Zero Innovation Institute

Hidden links
Researchers are revealing how rising temperatures reshape food choices, uncovering climate–diet connections that have long been overlooked in public health planning.
Heat and sugar
Our data shows that added sugar intake rises with temperature – especially through sugary drinks and frozen desserts – increasing risks linked to obesity and chronic disease.
Unequal impact
Lower-income and less-educated households experience the strongest heat-driven dietary shifts, highlighting how climate change can deepen nutritional inequalities.
Healthier futures
Our evidence guides governments and public health bodies in building resilient, lower-carbon diets – supporting communities facing climate-driven dietary risks.

A central focus of this work is the link between heat and added sugar consumption.

By analysing fifteen years of household purchasing data and millions of food-delivery transactions across more than 100 cities, our researchers are identifying a consistent trend: when temperatures rise, people consume more added sugar, particularly through soft drinks and frozen desserts.

This pattern emerges not only during extreme heat, but across a surprisingly moderate temperature range. This challenges assumptions about how climate influences behaviour and raises new questions for public health planning.

The consequences of these shifts are not evenly distributed. Our research shows that lower-income and less-educated households are disproportionately affected, experiencing the largest increases in heat-driven sugar intake.

These insights highlight how climate change interacts with social, cultural and economic factors to influence dietary choices, often in ways that heighten existing inequalities and health risks.

Linked to conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, these changes represent a growing challenge for communities and health systems.

A young woman with long red hair and wearing a black and white spotty top is facing a fair-haired male child, both are raising their ice cream cones to each other. There is vanilla ice cream in the cones.

“Understanding how temperature shapes food choices is essential for designing more resilient food environments in a warming world.”

— Dr Pan He, Lecturer in Environmental Science and Sustainability

Our interdisciplinary teams are combining environmental science, data analytics, nutrition research and climate modelling to project how diets may evolve under future warming scenarios.

These findings are already informing public health bodies, governments and community organisations seeking to reduce climate-related dietary risk and design more resilient food environments.

Our research emphasises the need for strategies that address both climate mitigation and adaptation – reducing emissions while also supporting populations most vulnerable to climate-driven dietary change.

Although recent studies have focused on US households, the implications reach far beyond a single country.

With the UK experiencing its own warming trends, this evidence offers a vital foundation for anticipating emerging risks, strengthening resilience and protecting long-term health.

Through this work, our researchers are revealing how climate change is reshaping daily life in ways that are often overlooked – and generating insights that can guide healthier, more equitable diets for future generations.