Intake of animal-source foods varies widely across individuals and is linked to distinct dietary characteristics: a PREVIEW sub-study

Plant-predominant diets could benefit human health and environmental sustainability. However, few studies have examined how animal-source food (ASF) consumption relates to overall dietary patterns among regular consumers. This study investigates associations between ASF consumption, nutrient intakes, and blood lipids in 270 Finnish adults with overweight and prediabetes. We analysed baseline data from the PREVIEW randomised 3-year diabetes prevention trial. Four-day food records were used to calculate the animal-source energy percentage (ASEP), representing the share of ASF in individuals’ diets. Spearman correlations were used to assess the associations between ASEP, food group consumption, and nutrient intakes. The relationships between ASEP and serum concentrations of LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides were investigated using linear regression models. Most participants (> \(97\%\) ) followed an omnivorous diet. Individual ASEPs varied considerably (median \(39.5\%\) , range \(18.1-63.9\%\) ). No association was observed between vegetable consumption and ASEP, while the consumption of sweets and sugars was higher among participants with a more plant-based diet. Significant positive correlations (adjusted \(p < 0.05\) ) were observed between ASEP and several nutrients, including protein ( \(E\%, r_{s}=0.48\) ), fat ( \(E\%, r_{s}=0.28\) ), saturated fatty acids ( \(E\%, r_{s}=0.39\) ) and cholesterol ( \(mg/MJ, r_{s}=0.43\) ). Negative correlations were observed between ASEP and carbohydrates ( \(E\%, r_{s}=-0.40\) ), fibre ( \(g/MJ, r_{s}=-0.25\) ), and sucrose ( \(E\%, r_{s}=-0.23\) ), indicating higher intake of these nutrients in more plant-based diets. No association was observed between ASEP and serum LDL-cholesterol in a multivariate regression model adjusted for age, sex, BMI, alcohol consumption, smoking status, physical activity, statin use, and including an age-sex interaction term. Under the same model specifications, ASEP was negatively associated with log-transformed serum triglycerides ( \(p=0.018\) ), with one percentage point higher ASEP associated with \(0.8\%\) lower triglyceride concentration. Intake of ASF varied substantially even among omnivores and was associated with distinct dietary characteristics. Lower ASEP was linked to nutritional benefits, including lower intakes of saturated fat and sodium, but also higher consumption of sweets and sugars. ASEP showed no or only modest associations with serum lipids, possibly reflecting the low-quality plant-food choices among the participants.