Shaping sustainable diets: U.K. study finds that smaller portions are key to reducing meat intake

By Dr. Chinta SidharthanReviewed by Lily Ramsey, LLMNov 5 2024

Reducing meat portions has the greatest impact on consumption decline in the UK, study shows, highlighting the need for targeted strategies to achieve environmental and health benefits.

Study: Smaller meat portions contribute the most to reducing meat consumption in the United Kingdom. Image Credit: UlgenDes/Shutterstock.com

In a recent study published in Nature Food, researchers from the United Kingdom used data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey to examine different patterns in meat consumption to determine the dietary pattern that contributed the most to reducing overall meat intake.

The insights from the study could help shape effective dietary policies and bring about healthy but sustainable nutritional shifts.

Background

Growing evidence from health and nutrition studies has shown that the increased intake of meat, especially processed and red meats, can significantly increase the risk of chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and colorectal cancer.

Furthermore, meat production also has significant environmental impacts as it results in excessive land use and increases greenhouse gas emissions — the two key factors contributing to climate change.

As a response to growing concerns about climate change and resource depletion, the U.K. Climate Change Committee recommended that meat consumption in the nation be reduced by 20% by 2030 and by 50% by 2050.

While national surveys on diet and nutrition have reported a gradual decline in meat consumption from 2008 to 2019, studies report that more than one-third of the adult population of the country continues to consume more than the recommended amount of processed and red meat.

To further reduce red meat intake, it is essential to understand the behaviors that drive meat consumption and identify sustainable dietary changes and patterns of meat intake reduction.

About the study

The present study used publicly available data from the U.K.’s National Diet and Nutrition Survey, which is a rolling, cross-sectional survey that tracks nutritional and dietary intake data across the country.

The survey also adjusted for sex and age and included data from random samples of private households. The researchers used data spanning 11 years from  2008–2009 to 2018–2019.

The data consisted of recordings of all food and drinks consumed over four days, which were obtained from four-day food diaries that the participants were required to keep. This information included portion sizes estimated using food labels or household measures.

Since the survey included individuals above the age of 1.5 years, children under the age of 12 were assisted by parents or caregivers in maintaining the diary.

Specific patterns of meat consumption were examined in the study by focusing on the changes in the frequency and amount of meat intake. The meat categories included processed meat, red meat, white meat, and total meat.

Furthermore, the researchers ensured that only the meat component of multi-ingredient dishes was included in the data, and for multi-meat dishes, the portion size and consumption frequency of each type of meat were separately estimated.

The researchers analyzed four main types of consumption behavior — the number of meat-eating days, the proportion of the population eating meat, daily meat-eating occasions, and portion sizes during these occasions.

Variations in meat consumption across mealtimes were also captured and the meat consumption was divided over the three meals of the day.

Various statistical analyses were employed to examine changing trends over time in meat consumption, and each behavior's contribution to overall changes in meat consumption was also assessed.

Results

The researchers observed that the total meat consumption in the U.K. had declined significantly in the 11 years between 2008 and 2019, and the decrease was driven primarily by reductions in the portion sizes of meat, especially in the case of processed and red meats.

The changes varied based on demographic factors such as gender, age, and income levels, indicating the complex shifts in dietary behavior.

The daily meat consumption per person was lower by 17.5 grams, and smaller portion sizes contributed to 51% of the decrease. In contrast, fewer meat-eating days contributed 24.4% to the overall decline in meat consumption.

While 17.3% of the reduction in overall meat consumption was attributed to the changes in the proportion of meat consumers in the population, fewer daily meat-eating occasions contributed only 6.5% to the overall change.

However, the study found that white meat consumption had increased over this period by 2.7%. The researchers believe that this could be due to perceptions of white meat being healthier, and the lower cost of white meat.

Gender-based changes were also seen in meat-eating behaviors and patterns. Men were found to reduce meat intake through smaller portion sizes, while women reduced the number of meat-eating days and occasions.

Furthermore, while individuals in the highest income groups reduced meat intake across all four behavior types, the others only reduced the portion sizes.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the meat consumption patterns in the U.K. indicated that the trend towards smaller portion sizes of red and processed meat was the strongest driver of overall reductions in meat intake in the country.

While some gender- and income-based changes were observed, the overall findings highlighted the potential for policy interventions targeting portion size to benefit human and environmental health.