In regions with low selenium soil concentrations, selenium can be considered a critical nutrient for vegetarians and vegans. While the number of vegetarians and vegans is increasing in many countries, a large research gap remains in this field. For example, to date, no study seems to have assessed selenium intake in vegetarian and vegan children. Therefore, the selenium intake of 1- to 3-year-old vegetarian, vegan, and omnivorous children who participated in the cross-sectional VeChi Diet study was determined. Selenium intake was assessed based on 3-day food diaries (not including supplements) and food selenium concentrations provided by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Between-group differences were assessed with analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The median daily selenium intake was 17 µg, 19 µg, and 22 µg in vegetarian, vegan, and omnivorous children, respectively. However, only the difference between the vegan and omnivorous children was statistically significant. On average, all three groups met the harmonized average requirement (H-AR) for selenium of 17 µg/day. Nevertheless, the hypothesis that vegetarian and vegan children generally consume less selenium than omnivorous children could be confirmed, and 39% of vegetarians, 36% of vegans, and 16% of omnivores fell below the adequate intake for selenium (provided by EFSA) of 15 µg/day.

Background and objectives: There is a lack of data on the environmental impact of children’s and adolescents’ food consumption as most studies only consider adult dietary intake and, in addition, use hypothetical diets or focus on specific food products. Hence, our aim was to assess two indicators of environmental impact of the total diet among omnivorous (OM), vegetarian (VG), and vegan (VN) children and adolescents from Germany. Methods: Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) and land use (LU) were calculated using 3-day weighed dietary records from 820 participants (1–18 years old) of the cross-sectional VeChi Diet Study (n = 430, 1–3 years of age, conducted 2016–2018), the VeChi Youth Study (n = 390, 6–18 years, 2017–2019), and the life cycle-analyses food-item (SHARP-Indicators) database. Group differences of indicators were analysed using analysis of covariance. Results: On average, food consumption of OM, VG, and VN diets caused GHGE of 2.6, 1.6, and 1.0 kg CO₂eq/kg food and LU of 3.1, 2.0, and 1.6 m²·year/kg food, respectively. The median total daily GHGE and LU amounts differed significantly between diet groups (p < 0.001). Standardisation to energy intake per 1000 kcal (GHGE: (OM) 2.2, (VG) 1.3, (VN) 0.9 kg CO₂eq/1000 kcal; LU: (OM) 2.5, (VG) 1.6, (VN) 1.3 m²·year/1000 kcal) confirmed these results. Discussion and conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first evaluation to show that even in children and adolescents, the GHGE and LU caused by an OM diet is considerably higher than the GHGE and LU on a VG or VN diet. In this way, plant-based diets performed better in terms of environmental sustainability.

Introduction: The German market for dietary supplements and fortified foods is of considerable size, and many target-group-specific products, e.g., for vegans and vegetarians, are available. Growing sales volumes in recent years reflect the large demand for these products. However, the broad variety and easy availability may lead to unfavorable use of these products. Methods: The VeChi Youth Study (2017–2019) was a cross-sectional study among vegan (VN), vegetarian (VG), and omnivorous (OM) participants aged 6 to 18 years (n = 401). Dietary data were collected from 3-day weighed dietary records (n = 390). The present analysis investigates nutrient intake from dietary supplements and unfortified/fortified foods. Results: VN had the highest dietary supplement use and the highest intake of fortified foods (both significantly different from OM; p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0342, respectively). Among VN and VG, vitamins B12 and D were the most frequently supplemented nutrients, while among OM, this was vitamin C. The mean nutrient intake from dietary supplements (excluding vitamins B12 and D) and fortified foods contributed up to 49% and 11% of the German reference values, respectively. Except for iron, VN had the highest mean intake of all nutrients from dietary supplements. Including unfortified and fortified foods as well as supplements, the mean intake in all three diet groups reached the reference values for vitamin B12, vitamin C, iron, and zinc but not for calcium and iodine. Discussion: Dietary supplements, and to a smaller extent fortified foods, increased the nutrient intake of the participants of the VeChi Youth Study. In order to achieve recommended intakes, the intake of dietary supplements and fortified foods was either unnecessary (e.g., vitamin C), not sufficiently effective (e.g., calcium and iodine), or effective (e.g., vitamin B12). Conclusions: Specific intake of dietary supplements is useful to improve the intake of critical nutrients in VN and VG diets, especially for vitamins B12 and D. In Germany, fortified foods appear to contribute only to a small extent to the intake of critical nutrients in VN and VG children and adolescents.