Globally, Youths Not Eating Enough Healthy, Plant-Based Foods

MONDAY, July 20, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Globally, youth are not consuming enough healthy, plant-based foods, according to a study published online July 8 in BMJ Global Health.Sydney Yearley, from Tufts University in Boston, and colleagues used the Global Dietary Database (1,248 dietary surveys from 185 countries) to assess energy-adjusted consumption of fruits, nonstarchy vegetables, starchy vegetables, beans/legumes, and nuts/seeds among youth by age (0 to 19 years) globally in 2018.The researchers found that plant-based food intake was low, from 1.19 servings/day in children aged younger than 1 year to 3.55 servings/day in those aged 15 to 19 years. The lowest intake across all ages was seen in South Asia, while East/Southeast Asia had the highest intakes for several ages, driven by nonstarchy vegetables. In all regions, intake increased with age, except in high-income countries, where children younger than 1 year consumed the most (3.77 servings/day), mainly from fruit (2.43). Females consumed more fruit and nonstarchy vegetables across most regions. Urban youth consumed more fruit and nuts/seeds. Youth from higher educated households had higher intakes of all plant-based foods except beans/legumes. In the United States, youth consumed among the highest amounts of healthy, plant-based foods during infancy, but among the lowest by later childhood and adolescence, with children younger than 2 years consuming 2.7 servings/day, but youth ages 2 to 19 years consuming 1.8 servings/day. Globally, youth in 2018 consumed more nonstarchy vegetables and nuts/seeds, fewer starchy vegetables, and higher total plant-based foods than they did in 1990."Dietary habits established during childhood can influence health throughout life, yet we found that consumption of healthy plant-based foods remains low among youth across the globe," Yearley said in a statement. "These findings provide an important benchmark for tracking progress and identifying opportunities to improve access to nutritious foods for children and adolescents."One author disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Globally, Youths Not Eating Enough Healthy, Plant-Based Foods

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