The study revealed that globally, children and adolescents consume low amounts of plant-based foods, with average servings ranging from 1.19 per day in infants under one year to 3.55 per day in those aged 15-19. South Asia reported the lowest consumption rates, while East and Southeast Asia had higher rates primarily due to greater intake of non-starchy vegetables.
Interestingly, plant-based food intake generally increases with age in most regions, except in high-income countries. The highest per-country rates were noted in Vietnam, Congo, and Mexico, while the lowest were in Spain, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom. Despite a global increase in plant-based food consumption from 1990 to 2018, South Asia did not follow this trend.
In the United States, children show high consumption of plant-based foods during infancy (2.7 servings/day) but drop to 1.8 servings/day by ages 2-19. This decline highlights the difficulty in maintaining healthy eating habits as children grow. The findings suggest that in high-income countries, factors like autonomy, food environments, and cultural norms might influence the decrease in plant-based food consumption with age.
