Globally, youth are not eating enough healthy plant-based foods

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Healthy plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes are the foundation of a healthy diet for anyone, no matter how old they are. But that’s especially true in children, for whom these foods are rich in essential nutrients that support normal growth, learning, mood, and long-term health.

In a new global analysis of childhood diets over nearly 30 years, researchers at Tufts University find that children around the world are still consuming low amounts of these critical foods. Among their observations, in the United States, daily consumption of healthy plant-based foods decreased with age, going from among the highest in the world at an early age to among the lowest in later childhood and adolescence—a pattern that contrasts with most other countries.

“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,” said first author Sydney Yearley, a student in the Tufts MD/PhD Clinical & Translational Science program. “These findings provide an important benchmark for tracking progress and identifying opportunities to improve access to nutritious foods for children and adolescents.”