The Potential of Plant-Based Lifestyle Interventions to Reduce the Burden of Disease in a Multi-Crisis Era
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This transdisciplinary, evidence-based viewpoint draws attention to literature suggesting that formalized plant-based lifestyle interventions have the potential to reduce the risk of COVID-19 and non-communicable diseases. Such interventions also offer the health sector a way to contribute to mitigating the risk of new zoonotic diseases and reducing carbon emissions (and, consequently, climate-change-induced diseases), all of which would help lower the overall disease burden. However, several challenges must be addressed to incorporate plant-based lifestyle interventions into clinical medicine. These include generating more methodologically robust and convincing evidence on the COVID-19-diet link, enhancing physicians' understanding of plant-based diets, and ensuring equitable access to affordable, culturally inclusive, nutritionally adequate, and appealing plant-based foods. Contextual barriers, such as counteraction from profit-driven industries, and personal barriers, such as psychological resistance, must also be acknowledged and mitigated. While not without obstacles, plant-based lifestyle interventions merit consideration given their multifaceted potential to enhance both human and planetary health.
Authors: Komathi Kolandai, Nicholas Wright, Luke Wilson, Heleen Haitjema, Summer Rangimaarie Wright, Meika Foster, George Laking, Marissa Kelaher, Reen Skaria, Jennifer Douglas, Mok Keong Liew, Marion Leighton, Deborah Brunt, Fuchsia Gold-Smith, Mark Craig, Thomas Joseph, Wayne Hurlow, Cheryl Pittar, Sarah Mortimer
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,150
OpenAlex ID: W7125985817