Sociodemographic Factors and Meat Alternative Purchase: A Longitudinal Study

Background: Meat alternative products have gained attention in recent years. This study examined the factors associated with meat alternative purchase in Japan. Methods: This longitudinal study used data from nationwide surveys conducted in 2022 and 2023 with persons aged 15–79 years in Japan. In total, 11,476 participants were included in the analysis. The outcome indicators were changes in meat alternative purchase in 2022 and 2023, categorized into four groups: “no in both years,” “purchased only in 2022,” “purchased only in 2023,” and “purchased in both years.” A multinomial logistic regression model was used, with “no in both years” as the reference group. Potential factors included sex, age, household income, education, health check-up status, and population density in residential areas. Results: Factors that were significantly associated with meat alternative purchase in any year were being woman, being aged <65 years, not having a lower annual income (5–16 million yen), having a higher educational attainment, and having undergone/intended to undergo health check-up (p < 0.05). In particular, sex was significantly associated with “Purchased only in 2022,” “Purchased only in 2023,” and “Purchased in both years”; the multivariate-adjusted OR (95% CI) of “Purchased in both years” for women was 3.07 (2.16–4.34). Conclusion: This study suggests that sociodemographic characteristics may influence the consumption of meat alternatives, impacting the development of the meat alternative industry.