Vegetarianísh-How "Flexitarian" Eating Patterns Are Defined and Their Role in Global Food-Based Dietary Guidance.

Background/

Objectives

A dietary pattern that simply reduces animal-based foods may be more acceptable to consumers than strict vegetarian or vegan diets. The objective of this investigation was to identify the most consistently used definitions of "flexitarian" dietary patterns, or dietary patterns with a reduced amount of animal foods. Then, sets of food-based dietary guidance (FBDG) from different countries and regions were evaluated to determine whether their guidance could accommodate flexitarian diets.

Methods

Literature searches yielded 86 total results on flexitarian eating after screening by title/abstract, full text availability, and English language. Definitions of "flexitarian" were extracted from each article then reviewed and summarized. FBDGs available in English were downloaded from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations website. Guidance related to reduced animal product diets was extracted from FBDGs for eating patterns closest to 2000 kcal.

Results

The summary definition of flexitarian included eating at least one animal product (dairy, eggs, meat, or fish) at least once per month but less than once per week. FBDGs from n = 42 countries or regions were downloaded and data extracted. Only FBDG from Sri Lanka explicitly describe a "semi-vegetarian" eating pattern, though n = 12 FBDGs describe a vegetarian pattern and n = 14 recommend reducing meat or animal food and/or choosing meat/dairy alternatives.

Conclusions

Following a flexitarian dietary pattern in terms of reducing or limiting red meat is feasible and even implicitly recommended by the official dietary guidance of several countries. Most FBDGs examined did not include recommendations to decrease dairy or fish intake.