A rise in misguided or ill-informed diet trends is encouraging young people to remove crucial food groups from their diet and skip meals believing it will help improve their appearance.

Researchers from Arla Goodness polled 1,000 16-25-year-olds and found that young women are more likely to change their food habits with over half (53%) admitting they have removed at least one food group from their diet compared to just over a third (37%) of males.

The most common age to start changing eating habits is between the ages of 14-16, with a third of females (33%) stating this is when they first cut a food group from their diet. Worryingly, nearly one in ten (10%) were aged 10 or younger.

Of those who removed a food group, over a quarter (26%) admitted that they were influenced in doing so by those around them, and over a third (36%) stated they look to fashion and lifestyle influencers and celebrities on social media as their source for information on diets and food.

The research found dairy to be among the top ranked food groups most likely to be cut by young females, with one-fifth (21%) disclosing they had gone dairy-free. Despite dairy being beneficial as part of a healthy balanced diet, young adults have a number of misconceptions about the category which could be negatively impacting their diets with nearly half (44%) of young females surveyed believing that dairy is unhealthy or has a negative impact on their body image.

In spite of this, nearly a third (30%) of females agree that dairy is rich in nutrients and vitamins, and nearly two-thirds (61%) believe the food group is high in much-needed calcium – however, this knowledge is not enough to encourage them to include it as part of their diet.

Nutritionist Lucy Jones commented: ‘Certain food groups provide crucial nutrients that can help support a healthy lifestyle, so removing them can have unwanted health effects that many may not be aware of. Dairy, in particular, is important for young growing girls’ as calcium supports the maintenance of normal bones and teeth.’

Public Health England’s most recent National Diet and Nutrition Survey also highlighted the issue, with data revealing that one in five (22%) girls from the age of 11 to 18 are not consuming enough calcium to meet minimum dietary requirements[2]. In addition, the report also identified that the number of female teenagers with very low calcium intakes has significantly increased from 2008 to 2017

To encourage more girls to consume dairy, Arla has introduced new Arla Goodness; a 1% fat milk that contains 30% more protein than semi-skimmed milk and 50% of an adult’s recommended daily calcium intake in just one 250ml glass.