{
  "abstract": "Background: The Nordic nutrition recommendations emphasize a shift toward plant-based diets for both health and environmental reasons. This study examined the prevalence of plant-based diets among Finnish adolescents according to sociodemographic backgrounds.\n\nMethods: Our data comprised 1,975 Finnish adolescents aged 12–20 years who participated in a cross-sectional Youth Nutrition Study conducted during the years 2024–2025 in 22 municipalities. The data were collected in schools using two non-consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls and background questionnaires. Participants were asked whether they followed any special diet, which was classified by the interviewer. Vegan, lacto-vegetarian, pescatarian, and omnivorous diets excluding red meat were classified as plant‑based diets. The prevalence of plant-based and omnivorous diets was calculated by sex, age, and school type. Group differences were tested using the chi‑square test.\n\nResults: Diets among adolescents were distributed as follows (n, %): omnivorous diet (1861, 94%), omnivorous diet excluding red meat (25, 1%), lacto-vegetarian or pescatarian (29, 1%) and vegan diet (3, 0.2%). The prevalence of plant-based diets was higher among girls (5%) than boys (1%, p < 0.001) and among 16–20-year-olds (5%) than younger (2%, p < 0.001). In addition, plant-based diets were more common among students in upper secondary schools (8%) than in lower secondary schools (2%) and vocational schools (1%, p < 0.001).\n\nConclusions: In Finland, plant-based diets are still relatively uncommon among adolescents. These findings highlight the need to increase the adoption of more plant-based diets to support both health and environmental sustainability.\n\nKey messages: • The prevalence of plant-based diets among Finnish adolescents is relatively low.\n\n• A shift toward plant‑based diets requires population‑wide efforts, with focus on groups where such diets are less common, such as boys and lower secondary and vocational school students.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": "abstract",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "M Viitalehto"
    },
    {
      "name": "S Niinistö"
    },
    {
      "name": "H Vepsäläinen"
    },
    {
      "name": "SM Virtanen"
    },
    {
      "name": "P Haario"
    },
    {
      "name": "S Ahonen"
    },
    {
      "name": "T Korhonen"
    },
    {
      "name": "M Åkerlund"
    },
    {
      "name": "S Raulio"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/77654wgy8yp55.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1319",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13699301/",
  "id": "77654wgy8yp55",
  "issns": [
    "1101-1262",
    "1464-360X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1319",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "6. Poster Displays"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "AcademicSubjects/MED00860"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "AcademicSubjects/SOC01210"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "AcademicSubjects/SOC02610"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "DH. Food, nutrition and diet"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2303|Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223699501",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13699301/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13699301",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "Oxford University Press",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/77654wgy8yp55.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:56Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13699301",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1319"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:21:44Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13699301",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13699301"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2303|Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact",
      "subfield": "ecology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Plant-based diets among Finnish adolescents: results from the Youth Nutrition Study",
  "title_text": "Plant-based diets among Finnish adolescents: results from the Youth Nutrition Study",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:35:54Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/77654wgy8yp55",
  "venue": "The European Journal of Public Health",
  "versions": []
}