While health is the top dietary motive for all students, new research reveals vegan teens are significantly more active and consume more fruits and vegetables, raising important questions for school health policies.
Study: Difference in Motives and Basic Health Behavior of 8799 Children and Adolescents Aged 10–19 Years Following a Vegan, Vegetarian, or Omnivorous Diet. Image Credit: StoryTime Studio / Shutterstock
In a recent study published in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition, researchers examined health behaviors and motivations of secondary school students following vegetarian, vegan, and omnivorous diets.
Plant-based eating is on the rise, but what’s driving the shift?
In Europe, 10% of people eat vegetarian or vegan diets. The omnivorous diet is currently the most common, with about 91% of the global population being omnivorous. Nevertheless, 51% of Europeans, 59% of Germans, and 51% of Austrians have reduced meat intake, with Germany doubling the number of vegetarians and vegans during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
The massive change in dietary preference toward plant-based diets, particularly by younger people, could be related to health, well-being, animal welfare, ethics, and environmental protection.
Health-related lifestyle and behaviors often solidify in childhood and adolescence and persist into adulthood, with limited possibility of learning healthy behaviors in adulthood. As such, schools represent an excellent environment for health behavior interventions.
The authors also note that recent Austrian school policy reforms now require that vegan meal options be made available in schools, reflecting broader support for plant-based diets in educational settings.
About the study
In the present study, researchers analyzed the motives and health behaviors of secondary school students following vegetarian, vegan, and omnivorous diets in Austria. They employed a multi-level cluster sampling strategy following a cross-sectional design. A standardized survey was available for nationwide participation by secondary school students.
The survey could be completed at any time using a computer, tablet, or smartphone under the supervision of parents or school personnel. It was based on individual characteristics, physical activity (PA), exercise, sports, diet, nutrition, and health. Control questions were included throughout the survey to determine conflicts and illegitimate responses.
The survey collected information on age, nationality, sex, residence, anthropometrics, diet type (vegan, vegetarian, or omnivorous), dietary motives (e.g., animal welfare, health, tradition, environmental protection), lifestyle interests, and dietary behavior (vegetable and fruit intake, fluid intake).
Students were categorized as vegan, omnivore, or vegetarian based on survey responses. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and chi-squared tests were used for statistical analyses. The authors acknowledge certain limitations, such as the data being self-reported and the sample sizes for the diet groups being unbalanced.
The cross-sectional nature of the study also means that causality cannot be established.
Who’s eating what? Diet trends, gender, and age
In total, 8,799 students were included. On average, they were aged 15.1 years and had a normal body weight. Most students were female (63%), rural residents (68%), and followed an omnivorous diet (92%). Only 7.2% of students followed plant-predominant diets, with 1.6% vegan and 5.6% vegetarian. More males followed an omnivorous diet, while more females followed a vegan or vegetarian diet.
The paper suggests this could be due to several factors, including parental habits and the socio-cultural association of meat-centered diets with masculinity.
Motivations revealed: What makes students choose their diet?
Vegan and omnivorous diets were more common in middle-school students, whereas vegetarian diets were more common among high school students. There was a significantly higher prevalence of underweight among vegetarian pupils compared to omnivorous pupils. Animal welfare was the most common motive for vegetarian pupils, followed by health.
Conversely, health was the most popular motive for students following an omnivorous or vegan diet, followed by sports performance for vegans and taste for omnivores. The lifestyle of a specific sport and engaging in sports, exercise, and PA were most commonly considered cool across the sample. Meanwhile, 1.4% and 6.1% of students considered smoking and alcohol intake as cool, respectively.
While a vegan lifestyle was seen as cool by some, the authors note that this doesn't yet match findings from other countries, such as a UK study where young people described a vegan lifestyle as “cooler than smoking.”
Lifestyle choices: Activity, diet, and “coolness” in adolescence
Notably, more males reported eating meat as cool than females, while females mentioned a vegetarian lifestyle and diet more often. Most participants (82%) regularly engaged in leisure-time sports.
The prevalence of leisure-time activity was higher among vegan pupils (86%), though participation in more organized club sports did not differ significantly between the groups. It is also important to note that despite these differences, the average activity level for all groups fell short of the daily 60-minute recommendation for adolescents.
Further, most students reported daily intake of fruits (66%) and vegetables (64%).
Daily habits: Fruits, veggies, and what students are drinking
Across dietary subgroups, daily fruit intake was significantly more prevalent among vegan pupils than among omnivores or vegetarians. Meanwhile, daily vegetable intake was significantly more prevalent among vegetarian and vegan students compared to omnivores. Fluid intake level was comparable across dietary subgroups.
Water was the most common drink, followed by syrup, fruit juices, and soft drinks.
More vegetarians reported water as their most common drink (84%) than vegans (75%) and omnivores (72%). Conversely, syrup and fruit juice were the most common drinks among omnivores, and tea was the most common drink for vegans. Around 47% of students consumed alcohol, and 9.3% were smokers.
Alcohol intake was significantly higher among vegetarians (55%) compared to omnivores (46.5%) or vegans (38.0%).
The paper's authors note that this could be linked to the vegetarian group being significantly older on average (15.9 years), placing more of them at or near Austria's legal drinking age of 16 for beer and wine.
What does this mean for schools and student health?
In sum, health remains the top motive for dietary choice, with sports engagement and lifestyle being the top reasons for lifestyle preference. While the omnivorous diet was the predominant dietary choice, students on a vegan diet were the most active in their leisure time.
The findings support the idea that plant-predominant diets are linked to healthier activity levels, which could be a major factor in addressing the global obesity epidemic.
The authors emphasize that these results highlight the potential for schools to become crucial environments for public health intervention. They advocate for a dual “Healthy Eating and Active Living” (HEAL) approach within the school curriculum and suggest that improving the availability and quality of plant-predominant meal options in schools could improve not only dietary habits but also physical activity levels among students.
While these findings are most directly relevant to Austria, the authors note that they may also apply to culturally similar countries.
Journal reference:
- Wirnitzer KC, Tanous DR, Drenowatz C, et al. (2025). Difference in Motives and Basic Health Behavior of 8,799 Children and Adolescents Aged 10–19 Years Following a Vegan, Vegetarian, or Omnivorous Diet. Current Developments in Nutrition, 9(7). DOI: 10.1016/j.cdnut.2025.107498 https://cdn.nutrition.org/article/S2475-2991(25)02959-2/fulltext