Assessment of the relationship between sustainable and healthy eating behaviours, acceptance of alternative protein sources (plant-based products, mushroom protein, algae, artificial meat, edible insects) and food neophobia in young adults

Introduction: Introduction: a growing world population, constraints on natural resources and changing nutritional preferences all point to the need to find an alternative to traditional animal protein sources however food neophobia can come to the fore in this process. Objetive: this study aims to evaluate the relationship between sustainable and healthy eating behaviours, acceptance of alternative protein sources and food neophobia in young adults. Methods: individuals filled out a questionnaire form including self-descriptive information, questions about acceptance of alternative protein sources, Sustainable and Healthy Eating Behaviours Scale and Food Neophobia Scale. Results: the study included 475 individuals, 132 (27.8 %) males and 343 (72.2 %) females, with a mean age of 24.6 ± 4.1 years. The mean scores of sustainable and healthy eating behaviours scale were 4.1 ± 0.8 and 4.2 ± 1.1 for male and female students, respectively. A significant relationship was found between the local food factor scores of the participants according to gender (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the food neophobia scale scores of individuals according to gender (p < 0.05). The acceptance of plant-based protein sources from alternative protein sources as an alternative to animal-based proteins was higher, while edible insects were not accepted by any participant. Conclusion: growing world population, increasing demand for animal protein, constraints in natural resources and changing dietary preferences necessitate finding an alternative to traditional animal protein sources and sustainable and healthy nutrition education in young adults is considered necessary for environmental and health sustainability.