Williams Emma, Vardavoulia Aikaterini, Lally Phillippa, Gardner Benjamin
Department of Psychology, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
Research Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
Appetite. 2023 Jan 1;180:106357. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106357. Epub 2022 Oct 29.
A vegan diet, which excludes all animal-derived products, has been associated with some improvements in health, while also conferring environmental benefits. Understanding the psychological determinants of successfully switching to a vegan diet will help to inform the design of interventions supporting long-term dietary change. Studies to date have tended to focus on reasoned motives underlying the decision to initiate such a dietary shift. Yet, focusing on reasons for switching may overlook the importance of a broader range of psychological factors that may help or hinder attempts to maintain a vegan diet. This qualitative interview study, the timing of which coincided with UK Covid-19 lockdowns, documented experiences of 20 young adults (17 female; mean age 22y) who attempted to adopt a vegan diet in the past nine months and had or had not successfully maintained this change. Reflexive Thematic Analysis identified five themes surrounding initiation and maintenance. A theme of 'motives, expectations and cues to switching' showed that switching was motivated by ethical or health concerns, and cued by Veganuary, lockdown or health issues. 'The effortfulness of switching' captured experiences of the perceived burden imposed by adhering to the diet due to, for example, a perceived lack of accessible vegan options. The 'flexibility of dietary rules' theme showed that many found the 'no animal products' rule clear but restrictive, so allowed themselves occasional non-meat animal products. 'Social acceptability concerns' captured the importance of acceptance from vegan and non-vegan family and friends, and 'satisfaction with the switch' described the perceived benefits that sustained maintenance for many. Our findings suggest that interventions should seek to support people to overcome potentially unforeseen practical and social challenges to adhering to a vegan diet.
纯素饮食排除了所有动物源性产品，它与健康状况的一些改善相关联，同时也带来环境效益。了解成功转向纯素饮食的心理决定因素将有助于为支持长期饮食改变的干预措施设计提供信息。迄今为止的研究倾向于关注启动这种饮食转变决定背后的理性动机。然而，关注转变的原因可能会忽视更广泛的心理因素的重要性，这些因素可能有助于或阻碍维持纯素饮食的尝试。这项定性访谈研究的时间与英国新冠疫情封锁期相吻合，记录了20名年轻人（17名女性；平均年龄22岁）的经历，他们在过去九个月里尝试采用纯素饮食，且维持或未成功维持这一改变。反思性主题分析确定了围绕启动和维持的五个主题。“转变的动机、期望和提示”这一主题表明，转变的动机是出于道德或健康方面的考虑，并受到“纯素一月”活动、封锁或健康问题的提示。“转变的难度”体现了因例如感觉缺乏方便可得的纯素选择而产生的坚持该饮食所带来的感知负担的经历。“饮食规则的灵活性”主题表明，许多人发现“无动物产品”规则明确但具有限制性，所以允许自己偶尔食用非肉类动物产品。“社会可接受性担忧”体现了来自纯素和非纯素家人及朋友认可的重要性，而“对转变的满意度”描述了对许多人而言持续维持纯素饮食所带来的感知益处。我们的研究结果表明，干预措施应设法支持人们克服坚持纯素饮食可能遇到的潜在意外的实际和社会挑战。
