Middle-aged men least likely to adopt plant-based diet
Middle-aged men are the least likely to adopt plant-based diet according to a survey by the British Nutrition Foundation. Maybe it's because they don't know what a plant-based diet is.
Middle-aged men are the least likely to adopt plant-based diet according to a survey by the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF).
When asked if they would follow a plant-based diet in 2021, 61% of respondents said that they were fairly or very unlikely. This negative response was highest among males (68%) and among the 45-54 age group (66%).
Only 12% of those questioned said that they already followed a plant-based diet.
What is a plant-based diet?
What also emerged from the BNF survey is that most people didn't really know what was meant exactly by a plant-based diet. If they had, perhaps more would have been willing to give it a try.
61% of respondents thought a 'plant-based diet' meant a vegan or vegetarian diet. Surprisingly, 41% opted for vegan, assuming a plant-based diet meant no meat, dairy or other animal products.
Only 10% of those who took part in the survey thought a plant-based diet was flexitarian in nature, a diet consisting of mostly plant foods, but allowing for some meat, fish, dairy and / or eggs. And that's exactly what the BNF and similar organisations mean when they recommends a plant-based diet: one mostly based on plant foods such as grains, vegetables, fruit, legumes and nuts, but that can also include a smaller proportion of animal derived foods such as meat, fish, eggs and milk.
Maybe if more people understood that plant-based meant mostly plant foods, more people would be willing to give it a go. Maybe more people already are without knowing it. The Mediterranean Diet, for example, is classed as a plant-based diet because it contains lots of vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts and cereals, but also fish, meat and dairy products like yogurt.
Research shows that diets that contain a high proportion of plant-based foods have health and environmental benefits, and we need to make sure people are not put off this style of eating by thinking they have to avoid all animal foods. The key to a healthy plant-based diet is eating a wide variety of plant foods, but not necessarily cutting out animal products altogether.
Speaking from a personal perspective, I was very much a meat and two veg man right up until the age of 50. And by veg I mean peas and carrots. Brussel sprouts was about as exotic as it got.
But over the last five years I have slowly changed my eating habits, to the point where I choose to eat a diet consisted largely of plant foods. Today, for example, I had a kefir yogurt drink at breakfast, some milk with a bowl of bran flakes, some egg in a potato stir fry, and a protein shake with milk, but otherwise I ate only plant foods. I can now go weeks without eating meat, something I would not have thought within the realms of possibility less than a decade ago. It was certainly no overnight transformation. Just lots of baby steps towards what I believe is healthier eating.
Anyone reading this will be big enough and ugly enough to decide for themselves what they eat, but if we're honest with ourselves, we know we don't always make the best choices. Our goal at Belly is to arm you with the knowledge to eat better, and one way to do that is to make more room on your plate for plant foods. It doesn't necessarily mean giving up meat, but it will mean a healthier you.
Easy way to start? Meat-free Monday.
REFERENCES
- Majority unlikely to go plant-based in the New Year, BNF survey reveals (British Nutrition Foundation)
Article last updated: 19th January 2021
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