Identifying vegetarians and their food consumption according to self-identification and operationalized definition in Finland

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and sociodemographic factors related to vegetarians according to different definitions in Finland and to compare the consumption of selected foodstuffs and nutritional intakes among vegetarians and omnivores. Design: Information about subjects' identification as vegetarians in a survey was used as a basis for self-defined vegetarianism. Foodstuffs consumed and their frequencies of consumption were obtained, and the reported consumption frequencies of meat, fish, milk and eggs or food portions containing these foodstuffs were used as a basis for an operationalized definition of different types of vegetarianism. Reported consumption was used to estimate foodstuff and nutritional intakes. Setting: Three large nationwide surveys in Finland. Subjects: In total, 24 393 participants aged between 18 and 79 years were included. Results: The proportion of self-identified vegetarians was 3?3 % of the total population in Finland. According to responses to questions on consumption frequency, 1?4 % of the population were pesco-lacto-ovo-vegetarians, 0?43 % were vegans, lacto-vegetarians or lacto-ovo-vegetarians, and 0?18 % were vegans or lacto-vegetarians. Eighty per cent of the self-identified vegetarians did not follow a vegetarian diet according to the operationalized definition, but they consumed fewer meat products (P , 0?01). Conclusion: Some self-defined vegetarians do consume red meat, poultry or fish, but they follow a healthier diet than self-defined omnivores. In the same sample self-identification indicated more than double the incidence of vegetarianism than the operationalized definition. Therefore self-identification is not a good method for observing the prevalence of vegetarianism.

Is There a Relationship between Vegetarianism and Seasonal Affective Disorder? A Pilot Study

“…In both the Netherlands and Finland, the question about special diet adherence (is a subject vegetarian or not?) is based on self-ratings and can be subject to misinterpretation (e.g., [17,35]). The participants in the Dutch group were diagnosed SAD sufferers according to the DSM criteria; the Finnish SAD subjects were defined according to their SPAQ scores.…”

“…The FFQ also contained a question about self-assessed diet adherence, including vegetarianism. However, although individuals may report themselves as being vegetarian, they may still consume meat [17]. We therefore checked the meat consumption of the participants who reported being vegetarian on the FFQ forms.…”

“…Since vegetarians are more prone to develop mental health issues and SAD patients are more likely to have dysfunctional eating attitudes, it would be interesting to investigate whether a relationship between SAD and vegetarianism exists. In the Finnish general population, 1.4% is vegetarian [17] and 3.6% suffer from SAD [18], and in the Dutch general population, 4.5% are either vegetarians or vegans [19] and 3% suffer from SAD [20]. So far, no research has been done on the relationship between SAD and vegetarianism.…”

Characterization of Bacteria, Clostridia and<i> Bacteroides</i> in Faeces of Vegetarians Using qPCR and PCR-DGGE Fingerprinting

“…Vegetarianism has been associated with a decreased risk for diseases such as heart diseases and various cancers and has been linked to a lower BMI and an overall decline in mortality [1] . Different lifestyle factors and diets were shown to have a significant impact on the faecal microbiota [2,3] .…”

Vegetarianism, bone loss, fracture and vitamin D: a longitudinal study in Asian vegans and non-vegans

“…Recent estimates suggest that between 3 and 5% of the population (Gottfredson et al, 2005;Vinnari et al, 2009) is on vegetarian diets, and this proportion is increasing with time. In Asia, although there is no official statistics, the number of vegetarians is believed to be higher than in western countries.…”