Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 3038 |
| Journal | NUTRIENTS |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 15 |
| Publication status | Published - 24 Jul 2022 |
Abstract
Interest in plant-based nutrition has steadily increased in the western world in the recent years. The number of people following a meat-reduced, flexitarian diet is growing continuously. However, little is known about the diet quality of flexitarians compared to vegans or omnivores. Therefore, in this cross-sectional study, the food intake of 94 participants aged between 25–45 years was recorded via a validated food frequency questionnaire and 28 self-designed questions about the consumption of plant-based alternatives. An adapted Healthy Eating Index, HEI-flex, was developed to evaluate the diet quality of flexitarians, vegans and omnivores. Higher score points (SP) of the HEI-flex are associated with higher compliance with the official diet recommendations (Vmax = 100 SP). Finally, flexitarians scored significantly more highly when compared to omnivores (54 ± 8 vs. 47 ± 9 SP; p = 0.008) but lower than vegans (54 ± 8 vs. 61 ± 10 SP; p = 0.010). The results showed that the HEI-flex is a useful tool for assessing and comparing the diet quality of flexitarians, vegans and omnivores. Despite the consumption of highly processed plant-based alternatives, reduction in meat and meat products seems to be accompanied by increased overall diet quality.
Keywords
- diet quality, flexitarians, Healthy Eating Index, HEI-flex, plant-based alternatives, vegans
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Food Science
- Nursing(all)
- Nutrition and Dietetics
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In: NUTRIENTS, Vol. 14, No. 15, 3038, 24.07.2022.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Application of a Modified Healthy Eating Index (HEI-Flex) to Compare the Diet Quality of Flexitarians, Vegans and Omnivores in Germany
AU - Bruns, Anja
AU - Müller, Mattea
AU - Schneider, Inga
AU - Hahn, Andreas
N1 - Funding Information: We would like to thank the participants who contributed their time to this study. The publication of this article was funded by the Open Access Fund of the Leibniz University Hannover.
PY - 2022/7/24
Y1 - 2022/7/24
N2 - Interest in plant-based nutrition has steadily increased in the western world in the recent years. The number of people following a meat-reduced, flexitarian diet is growing continuously. However, little is known about the diet quality of flexitarians compared to vegans or omnivores. Therefore, in this cross-sectional study, the food intake of 94 participants aged between 25–45 years was recorded via a validated food frequency questionnaire and 28 self-designed questions about the consumption of plant-based alternatives. An adapted Healthy Eating Index, HEI-flex, was developed to evaluate the diet quality of flexitarians, vegans and omnivores. Higher score points (SP) of the HEI-flex are associated with higher compliance with the official diet recommendations (Vmax = 100 SP). Finally, flexitarians scored significantly more highly when compared to omnivores (54 ± 8 vs. 47 ± 9 SP; p = 0.008) but lower than vegans (54 ± 8 vs. 61 ± 10 SP; p = 0.010). The results showed that the HEI-flex is a useful tool for assessing and comparing the diet quality of flexitarians, vegans and omnivores. Despite the consumption of highly processed plant-based alternatives, reduction in meat and meat products seems to be accompanied by increased overall diet quality.
AB - Interest in plant-based nutrition has steadily increased in the western world in the recent years. The number of people following a meat-reduced, flexitarian diet is growing continuously. However, little is known about the diet quality of flexitarians compared to vegans or omnivores. Therefore, in this cross-sectional study, the food intake of 94 participants aged between 25–45 years was recorded via a validated food frequency questionnaire and 28 self-designed questions about the consumption of plant-based alternatives. An adapted Healthy Eating Index, HEI-flex, was developed to evaluate the diet quality of flexitarians, vegans and omnivores. Higher score points (SP) of the HEI-flex are associated with higher compliance with the official diet recommendations (Vmax = 100 SP). Finally, flexitarians scored significantly more highly when compared to omnivores (54 ± 8 vs. 47 ± 9 SP; p = 0.008) but lower than vegans (54 ± 8 vs. 61 ± 10 SP; p = 0.010). The results showed that the HEI-flex is a useful tool for assessing and comparing the diet quality of flexitarians, vegans and omnivores. Despite the consumption of highly processed plant-based alternatives, reduction in meat and meat products seems to be accompanied by increased overall diet quality.
KW - diet quality
KW - flexitarians
KW - Healthy Eating Index
KW - HEI-flex
KW - plant-based alternatives
KW - vegans
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85135109141&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/nu14153038
DO - 10.3390/nu14153038
M3 - Article
C2 - 35893892
AN - SCOPUS:85135109141
VL - 14
JO - NUTRIENTS
JF - NUTRIENTS
SN - 2072-6643
IS - 15
M1 - 3038
ER -