Who’s Drinking Soy Milk In The U.S.?
There are many reasons to switch to plant-based milk, from health and allergies to concerns about animal welfare and the environment. Studies show that soy milk is comparable to cow’s milk in terms of protein and nutrients, and it’s the only plant-based alternative that is officially suggested by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
In this study, researchers looked at soy milk consumption data from a nationally-representative survey called NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey). They compared results from the 2015-2016 survey to the 2017-2020 survey to see if anything had changed over time.
Their analysis was based on the following questions included as part of NHANES:
- “How often did you have milk to drink or on your cereal in the past 30 days?”
- “What kind of milk did you usually have?”
The options for the second question were whole milk, 1% fat milk, skim milk, and soy milk. The researchers also explored demographic differences in soy milk intake, including gender, race and ethnicity, age, marital status, education and income level, and several other characteristics related to health and household status.
In the 2015-2016 survey, 132 out of 5,264 respondents said they drank soy milk or put it in their cereal (2%), while 1.5% of participants reported this in 2017-2020. There were no significant differences in consumption based on age, gender, income level, or general health status, but soy milk consumers were significantly more likely to be Black or Asian (as well as Latin American as of the 2017-2020 survey).
The study also found that moderate exercisers and college-educated individuals were more likely to consume soy milk in both survey years. Finally, non-smokers were more likely to drink soy milk in the 2017-2020 edition.
Because the study relied on existing NHANES data, the results are limited. For example, the researchers can’t explain why certain demographics may be consuming more or less soy milk than others. Furthermore, the original survey questions didn’t account for people who consume milk or soy milk in their coffee or tea, or add it to recipes when cooking. As such, this paints a limited picture of soy milk consumption.
Despite the growing popularity of soy milk, there still exists a large gap between its consumption and that of traditional cow’s milk. According to the authors, there may be opportunities to design marketing and advocacy campaigns based on who’s consuming (and not consuming) soy milk. For example, advocates may want to find ways of appealing to people based on their ethnicity and education levels, prioritizing the demographics that are the least likely to consume soy milk.
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/11/2532