{"title":"Understanding the barriers to plant-based dietary change: The role of meat-centric meal perception among adults in Australia and Denmark","authors":"Ramya Rao , Djin Gie Liem , Qian Janice Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.appet.2025.108240","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Facilitating sustainable dietary transitions is crucial for addressing the climate crisis, yet changing individual eating behaviours – particularly in meat-centric food cultures – remains challenging. This study examines different psychological factors underlying plant-based eating, with a focus on meat-centric meal perception - the tendency to view meat as the essential component of a proper meal. Data were collected via an online questionnaire from 592 meat-eating adults aged 20 to 70 (evenly recruited across five age groups) in Australia (N = 325) and Denmark (N = 267), two of the world's highest meat-consuming countries. Participants completed validated measures of familiarity with plant-based meals, food neophobia, cognitive reflection, and meat-centric meal perception. A more meat-centric meal perception was correlated with consuming fewer plant-based meals in Australia <em>r</em>(323) = - 0.36, <em>p</em> < 0.001 and Denmark <em>r</em>(265) = - 0.42, p < 0.001. Mediation analyses showed that higher familiarity with plant-based meals was associated with a less meat-centric meal perception, which in turn was related to higher plant-based eating among Australians (indirect effect = 0.34, 95 % CI [0.183, 0.534]) and Danes (indirect effect = 0.45, 95 % CI [0.267, 0.673]). Food neophobia was associated with lower plant-based eating in both countries, with an additional negative indirect effect via meat-centric meal perception in Denmark. Cognitive reflection showed no significant association with either meal perception or plant-based eating. These findings highlight meat-centric meal perception as a key psychological barrier to plant-based eating and underscore the importance of familiarity and food neophobia in shaping meal perceptions, offering valuable insights for promoting sustainable dietary change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":242,"journal":{"name":"Appetite","volume":"215 ","pages":"Article 108240"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Appetite","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666325003939","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Facilitating sustainable dietary transitions is crucial for addressing the climate crisis, yet changing individual eating behaviours – particularly in meat-centric food cultures – remains challenging. This study examines different psychological factors underlying plant-based eating, with a focus on meat-centric meal perception - the tendency to view meat as the essential component of a proper meal. Data were collected via an online questionnaire from 592 meat-eating adults aged 20 to 70 (evenly recruited across five age groups) in Australia (N = 325) and Denmark (N = 267), two of the world's highest meat-consuming countries. Participants completed validated measures of familiarity with plant-based meals, food neophobia, cognitive reflection, and meat-centric meal perception. A more meat-centric meal perception was correlated with consuming fewer plant-based meals in Australia r(323) = - 0.36, p < 0.001 and Denmark r(265) = - 0.42, p < 0.001. Mediation analyses showed that higher familiarity with plant-based meals was associated with a less meat-centric meal perception, which in turn was related to higher plant-based eating among Australians (indirect effect = 0.34, 95 % CI [0.183, 0.534]) and Danes (indirect effect = 0.45, 95 % CI [0.267, 0.673]). Food neophobia was associated with lower plant-based eating in both countries, with an additional negative indirect effect via meat-centric meal perception in Denmark. Cognitive reflection showed no significant association with either meal perception or plant-based eating. These findings highlight meat-centric meal perception as a key psychological barrier to plant-based eating and underscore the importance of familiarity and food neophobia in shaping meal perceptions, offering valuable insights for promoting sustainable dietary change.
期刊介绍:
Appetite is an international research journal specializing in cultural, social, psychological, sensory and physiological influences on the selection and intake of foods and drinks. It covers normal and disordered eating and drinking and welcomes studies of both human and non-human animal behaviour toward food. Appetite publishes research reports, reviews and commentaries. Thematic special issues appear regularly. From time to time the journal carries abstracts from professional meetings. Submissions to Appetite are expected to be based primarily on observations directly related to the selection and intake of foods and drinks; papers that are primarily focused on topics such as nutrition or obesity will not be considered unless they specifically make a novel scientific contribution to the understanding of appetite in line with the journal's aims and scope.