In recent decades, the food industry has been faced with new challenges and it has had to develop new types of diets and produce new types of foods that can slow down the spread of chronic diseases. The aim of our research is to identify the characteristics of plant-based nutrition based on international and Hungarian literature. The comprehensive analysis has been performed based on the theoretical model called Theory of Planned Behavior, in the course of which the perceived and objective benefits of and barriers to the conversion to a plant-based diet have been examined. According to our results, the main benefits of plant-based nutrition are its many factors associated with a reduction in risk of developing numerous chronic diseases. This is followed by benefits of well-being and satisfaction, followed by ethical and environmental benefits. The most commonly reported inhibitory factor of a vegetarian diet is the enjoyment of eating meat and the difficulty in giving up meat consumption. This is followed by health considerations, e.g., lack of various ingredients in foods. Convenience and taste factors are also important disincentives as well as the irrelevant nature of some plant-based nutrition information sources. Besides, social barriers, negative discrimination and negative effect of mental health associated with them can also be a hindrance, as can financial barriers. The classification developed during our analysis can serve as a relevant guideline for decision-makers, and also as a basis for further primary qualitative and quantitative research.
Groups of Ingredients | Recommended Daily Allowances |
---|---|
Vegetables (with the exception of starchy vegetables) | “Ad libitum”, aiming at diversity |
Fruit | 2–4 portions (1 portion = 1 medium-sized piece or 1/2 cup) |
Whole grain cereals (e.g., oat, brown rice, quinoa) | 6–11 portions (1 portion = 1/2 cup of cooked cereals or one slice of whole wheat bread) |
Legumes (lentils, peas, beans, soybean) | 2–3 portions (1 portion = 1/2 cup of cooked legumes) |
Leaf vegetables (e.g., broccoli, lettuce, kale) | At least 2–3 portions (1 portion = 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup of cooked leaf vegetables) |
Oilseeds (e.g., pistachio, almond, walnut) | 30–55 g |
Seeds (e.g., chia, linseed, hempseed) | 1–3 tablespoons |
Vegetable milk (e.g., cashew, soy, almond) | 2–3 cups |
Fresh herbs | “Ad libitum” |
Source: Authors’ own editing, based on Hever [41] and Szabó et al. [20]
Benefits | Types of Benefits 1,2 | Author(s), Year of Publication |
---|---|---|
Factors Beneficial to Health | ||
May reduce body fat and thus the degree of obesity | Objective | Berkow and Barnard, 2006; CJDPR, 2003; Cummings et al., 2002; Friedewald et al., 2011; Szabó et al., 2016 |
Decreased intake of saturated fat | Perceived | Lea and Worsley, 2003a; Lea et al., 2006a |
Objective | Kökény, 2009 | |
Having levels of serum albumin with a more favorable effect on balanced nutritional status | Objective | Benzie and Wachtel-Galor, 2009 |
The essential nutritional ingredients can be found in a greater amount | Objective | Antal, 2005; CJDPR, 2003; Dwyer, 1988; Pomerleau et al., 2002 |
Reduces the risk factors for developing chronic diseases | Perceived | Graça et al., 2015; Knutsen, 1994; Melina et al., 2016; Lea and Worsley, 2002; Lea and Worsley, 2003a; Lea et al., 2006a; Weinrich, 2019 |
Objective | Berkow and Barnard, 2005; Barnard et al., 2009; Dwyer, 1988; Leroy and Cofnas, 2019; Micha et al., 2010; O’Connor et al., 2017 | |
Reduces the likelihood of developing cancer | Objective | IARC, 2015; Nechuta et al., 2012; Pérez-Cueto and Verbeke, 2012; Richman et al., 2010; Szabó et al., 2016 |
Benefits Linked to Well-Being and Contentment | ||
Has a positive effect on the development of well-being and on achieving peace and contentment | Perceived | Kökény, 2005; Lea and Worsley, 2002; Lea et al., 2006b |
May contribute to a decrease in social dysfunction | Perceived | Judge and Wilson, 2015 |
Improves the quality of life | Objective | Kökény, 2009; Meyer et al., 2006 |
Ethical and Environmental Benefits | ||
May result in more effective exploitation of economic resources | Perceived | Weinrich, 2019 |
Objective | Candy et al., 2019; Oláh et al., 1985; Sabaté, 2001 | |
Reduces the effect of global warming and environmental pollution | Perceived | Mylan, 2018; Schenk et al., 2018 |
Objective | Candy et al., 2019; Kökény, 2009; Leitzmann, 2003 | |
More favorable results concerning indicators measuring environmental impacts | Perceived | Mullee et al., 2017; Vanhonacker et al., 2013 |
Objective | Castané and Anton 2017; Goldstein et al., 2016; Könczey and Nagy, 1997; | |
Prioritizing the protection of animals as individuals and as species | Perceived | Janssen et al., 2016; Kenyon and Barker, 1998; PADADC, 2003; Schenk, 2018; Weinrich, 2019 |
Increased willingness to contribute to animal welfare organizations | Perceived | Backer and Hudders, 2015 |
1The perceived or objective assessment of the benefits shown in the Table may be subjective, depending on the individual.
2Perceived benefits were based on consumer surveys, objective benefits were based on objective measurements (e.g. laboratory and clinical studies).
Barriers | Types of Barriers 1,2 | Author(s), Year of Publication |
---|---|---|
The Enjoyment of Eating Meat | ||
Excessive commitment to eating meat and the difficulty in abandoning it | Perceived | Graça et al., 2015; Kenyon and Barker, 1998; Lea and Worsley, 2003a; Lea and Worsley, 2003b; Pohjolainen et al., 2015 |
Essential-Nutrient-Deficiency Risks | ||
Risk of low protein intake | Perceived | Lea and Worsley, 2001; Lea et al., 2006b |
Objective | Dwyer, 1988; Kökény, 2009; Szabó et al., 2016 | |
Low intake of micronutrients for example, vitamin B12 and vitamin D, as well as that of riboflavin, iron, calcium and zinc | Objective | Balk et al., 2005; Candy et al., 2019; Dwyer, 1988; Kökény, 2009; Watanabe, 2007 |
Convenience and Taste Factors | ||
The preparation of meals is too complicated | Perceived | Lea et al., 2006b; Pohjolainen et al., 2015 |
The availability of meals to choose from is limited in restaurants | Perceived | Lea and Worsley, 2001; Lea et al., 2006a; Lea et al., 2006b; Vanhonacker et al., 2013 |
It easily becomes boring and tasteless | Perceived | Lea and Worsley, 2001; Povey et al., 2001 |
Difficulty in Obtaining Information | ||
The range of relevant and available information is very limited | Perceived | Lea and Worsley, 2001; Lea and Worsley, 2003a; Lea et al., 2006a |
Social Constraints, Negative Discrimination | ||
It may lead to eating disorders | Perceived | Povey et al., 2001 |
Objective | Dwyer, 1988; Glasauer and Leitzmann, 2005 | |
Negative associations, stereotypes | Objective | Szabó et al., 2016 |
The preservative effect of family habits | Perceived | Kenyon and Barker, 1998; Lea and Worsley, 2003a; Lea et al., 2006b; Taren and Wiseman, 2003 |
Objective | Kökény, 2005; | |
Motivation based on imitation | Perceived | Hodson and Earle, 2018 |
Objective | Kökény, 2005 | |
Negative Effects on Mental Health | ||
Vegetarians are more neurotic and depressed than omnivores, causing them poorer mental health | Perceived | Baines et al., 2007; Forestell and Nezlek, 2018 |
Financial Constraints | ||
Daily meals and raw materials are too costly to obtain | Perceived | Kenyon and Barker, 1998; Lea et al., 2006b; Povey et al., 2001; Taren and Wiseman, 2003 |
1The perceived or objective assessment of the barriers shown in the Table may be subjective, depending on the individual.
2Perceived barriers were based on consumer surveys, objective barriers were based on objective measurements (e.g. laboratory and clinical studies).
This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/su12104136