Abstract
An increasing number of individuals adopt plant-based diets for their potential health benefits. Understanding vegetarians’ dietary behavior in the context of their socioeconomic background is essential for pro-vegetarian messaging and to influence public beliefs about plant food consumption. Thus, this study sought to investigate diet and consumer behaviors in U.S. vegetarians. This is a cross-sectional, population-based study with data from the Nutrition and Health Examination Surveys (2007–2010). Selected items from three modules (diet and nutrition behavior, consumer behavior, and food security) were compared between vegetarians (n = 352) and the general population (n = 14,328). U.S. vegetarians consumed significantly fewer calories and less cholesterol but more fiber than their omnivorous counterparts. Moreover, vegetarians had significantly fewer soft drinks and salty snacks available at home. We also observed significant intergroup differences with regard to the availability of fruit and dark green vegetables. Vegetarians spent less money on eating out and indicated a lower number of not-home-prepared meals and ready-to-eat foods. We found no differences regarding money spent at supermarkets or grocery stores. Our study contributes to a better understanding of dietary and consumer behaviors in vegetarians. We shed a new light on the economic feasibility of vegetarian diets, highlighting that these diets are not necessarily more expensive than an omnivorous diet.
Highlights
Vegetarian and vegan plant-based diets have been associated with a myriad of health benefits, including improved body weight and postprandial metabolism [1], lower blood pressure levels [2], and protective effects vs. the incidence of ischemic heart disease and cancer [3].In light of these benefits, more and more individuals have reduced their meat consumption and adopted a plant-based diet [4,5]
Attitudes toward vegetarian diets are gradually changing [6]. This ongoing trend has been substantially accelerated with the advent of COVID-19 [7,8] It is, for health reasons why individuals sympathize with a plant-based diet
This study investigated dietary and consumer behavior in U.S vegetarians and compared the results to the general population that denied consuming any special diet
Summary
Vegetarian and vegan plant-based diets have been associated with a myriad of health benefits, including improved body weight and postprandial metabolism [1], lower blood pressure levels [2], and protective effects vs the incidence of ischemic heart disease and cancer [3]. In light of these benefits, more and more individuals have reduced their meat consumption and adopted a plant-based diet [4,5]. Understanding motivations, perceived benefits and barriers of consuming a plant-based diet will help formulate targeted pro-vegetarian messaging to influence beliefs about plant food consumption, and, public health [14,15]
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