PLANT-Z: How to shift Generation-Z towards more plant-based dietary patterns?
The transition to more healthy and sustainable plant-based diets is urgently needed to tackle both health and environmental challenges. An important population growing up in the face of climate change is Generation-Z. These youngsters, today in their adolescence, may play a crucial role in the societal transition towards more sustainable plant-based diets. Although interventions focusing on both health and sustainability may be more powerful than those focusing on health alone, knowledge hereon is limited. Using mixed methods and co-creation, we will collect pioneering data on healthy and sustainable plant-based dietary patterns in adolescents (14–18 years), including those with lower socio-economic backgrounds. We will investigate how they can be motivated to shift towards more healthy and sustainable plant-based diets by increasing our understanding of the capabilities, opportunities, knowledge, perceptions, facilitators and barriers to eat healthy and sustainable plant-based foods. Also, intervention settings for the promotion of healthy and sustainable plant-based diets will be determined, together with the target group. Finally, we will develop and pilot-test a co-created intervention. This project will enrich the knowledge base and deliver a ready-to-use intervention aimed at shifting Generation-Z towards more healthy and sustainable plant-based diets, taking different socio-economic backgrounds into account.
PROJECT RELATED PUBLICATIONS
TEAM
PRIMARY RESEARCHER
Prof. dr. Tom Deliens (VUB)
Prof. dr. Wendy Van Lippevelde (UGent)
Researchers
Prof. dr. Peter Clarys (VUB)
Dr. Katrien Van Beneden (EhB)
Prof. dr. Joost Dessein (UGent)
Dr. Vickà Versele (VUB/UGent)
Dr. Evelien Mertens (EhB)