European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety

Background: A plant-based diet (PBD) consists of ‘an eating pattern dominated by fresh or minimally processed plant foods and decreased consumption of meat, eggs and dairy products’. (Lea, Crawford and Worsley, [1]). There is evidence to suggest that a PBD is one of substantial health benefits, and potential environmental benefits (Sievenpiper and Dworatzek, [2]). However, barriers to consuming a PBD have been identified such as needing more information about a PBD, and not wanting to change eating habits (Lea et al, [1]). This study aims to explore the publics’ views on the perceived benefits and barriers of consuming a PBD in adults aged between 18-35 years.
Method: The survey was conducted on New Street, Birmingham over a day. Leeds Metropolitan University granted ethical approval. Participants (n=50) aged 18-35 years were recruited ‘using convenience’ sampling. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The frequency of participant responses was calculated, and cross tabulations (Pearson’s test of significance) by gender, age and education were performed.
Results: The most frequently perceived benefits of a PBD included its ability to ‘prevent disease’ (90%), ‘eat a greater variety of food’ (86%) and ‘eat more fibre’ (86%), with benefit to ‘the environment’ (20%) considered least. The most frequently perceived barriers were that ‘there is a not enough iron’ (88%), ‘not enough protein’ in a PBD (84%) and ‘it takes too long to prepare’ (80%). More women perceived a PBD as a way to ‘eat a more ‘natural’ diet’ (P <0.01) as a benefit, whereas more men perceived ‘humans are meant to eat lots of meat’ (P <0.01), and ‘I don’t know what to eat instead of lots of meat’ (P <0.05) as barriers. The youngest age group (18-23yrs) more than other age groups perceived a PBD would ‘have plenty of energy’ (P <0.05) as a benefit, the oldest age group (30-35yrs) were more likely perceive that ‘it would not be tasty enough’ (P <0.05) as a barrier.
Discussion: Gender differences found in this study reinforce the findings of Lea et al. (2006) and Rozin et al. (2012) [3], indicating that perceptions of a PBD may differ according to gender, and therefore initiatives promoting a PBD may need to take this into account. Age differences found in Lea et al. [1] and this study show that younger respondents may be more amenable to a PBD. In this study no significant differences were found between education levels, this is in contrast to current work in the area, which sees education as a more influential factor.
Conclusion: This is the first study examining benefits and barriers of plant-based diets in to UK and has provided a platform for future research.