A cross-sectional study focused on the dietary profiles of plant-based diet (PBD) followers, analyzing their consumption against those following an omnivorous (OMN) diet. The research included 760 participants, of whom 161 identified as vegan, ovo-lacto-vegetarian, or pesco-vegetarian. Participants' intakes of 175 foods were assessed via a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and adjusted for energy intake.
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The study compared the intake of 32 food groups across different diet types using Kruskal–Wallis and post-hoc tests. Additionally, adherence to established dietary patterns—including Pro-vegetarian, Mediterranean, and EAT-Lancet—was evaluated, alongside a posteriori dietary patterns characterized through methods such as principal component analysis (PCA) and clustering techniques.
Results indicated that daily mean intakes of legumes (over 48.2 g), vegetables/mushrooms (over 209.9 g), nuts (over 10.2 g), and whole grains (over 24.7 g) were significantly higher in PBD groups compared to OMN (p < 0.001). The three a priori dietary indices showed inter-correlation (rho = 0.4–0.6), with OMN scoring lower than PBD groups (p < 0.001). PCA identified a PBD-like pattern accounting for 15.0% of variance, an unhealthy pattern at 7.2%, and a mixed animal-PBD pattern at 5.5%. Clustering methods revealed similarities among PBD participants and identified a subset of OMN (N = 61) with PBD-like dietary features.
This subset displayed notably lower intakes of milk (48.0 ml vs. over 95.2 ml), red meat (13.9 g vs. over 17.8 g), processed meat (9.0 g vs. over 14.0 g), and precooked foods (9.0 g vs. over 12.2 g), alongside higher intakes of whole grains (25.5 g vs. under 20.8 g), nuts (13.8 g vs. under 8.3 g), and vegetables (207.7 g vs. under 161.3 g).
The findings highlight that dietary choices differ significantly among OMN, vegetarians, and vegans, extending beyond the mere exclusion of animal products. Despite their diversity, PBDs share common characteristics, and some OMN adopt similar dietary traits.