Fatores preditores na aderência à dietas plant based

Abstract

This dissertation sought to answer the following question: what are the factors involved in adherence to plant-based diets in university students? To this end, it is divided into sections, starting with the introduction, bibliographical references and two articles that, together, seek answers to this question, ending with final considerations. The first article sought to analyze the factors that may be predictors of adherence to plant-based diets in university students. The objective was to identify dietary patterns and some data on vegetarianism, verify sociodemographic characteristics, motivations and difficulties related to adhering to plant-based dietary patterns. 815 university students were investigated using a structured questionnaire and statistical analysis of frequency and inference. It was found that 9.6% of academics follow plant-based diets, and their adherence is associated (p<0.00) with pro-environmental behaviors, concern for animal rights and disliking the taste of meat. Difficulties have been reported in following these more meat-restricted diets compared to omnivores (p<0.000) regarding food preparation, self-control and eating outside the home. From this it emerges the need to provide greater information, awareness and socio-cultural changes so that the population finds it easier to permanently modify their diet in favor of health and sustainability. In the second article, the objective was to analyze meat consumption and its relationship with certain predictive behaviors in university students. To this end, we sought to characterize the sociodemographic profile of the sample, verify the reasons and difficulties reported for adhering to and maintaining diets with less meat consumption, in addition to making associations between meat consumption profiles and other variables. In this article, the methodology followed that of the first article, but the statistical analyzes were correlation and logistic regression. Cattle and chicken meat were the most consumed, with grammages above the recommended. Meat consumption is associated with gender, religion, degree, income, race, self-control, pro-environmental behaviors and issues linked to the meat industry. Regarding adherence and maintenance of a lower consumption pattern, there was a positive correlation with greater ease in preparing food and eating outside the home, in addition to motivations linked to the environment, animal causes and the meat industry. It appears that behavior regarding meat consumption is related to antecedent and consequent factors and that these can be key points for dietary changes in favor of sustainability.