How do Finns eat?

Adult dietary habits have changed in a positive direction over recent decades, but there is still room for improvement in both food choices and nutrient intake. On the positive side, adults generally have regular meal patterns, and breakfast is part of the daily routine for almost everyone.

What should be added to the plate? Especially vegetables, berries, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and sustainably caught or farmed fish.

Meat consumption is now more than twice as high as in the 1950s. In particular, poultry consumption has increased in recent decades. Men especially eat significantly more red and processed meat than recommended.

The proportion of carbohydrates in total energy intake has decreased, while the proportions of fat and protein have increased. Although the quality of dietary fats has improved, the intake of saturated fat remains higher than recommended for almost everyone. Fibre intake has increased, but the recommended level has not yet been reached.

Nearly all Finns consume more salt than recommended. The intake of vitamin D from food has improved among adults, but for some, the intake of various vitamins and minerals is still too low.

Dietary supplements complement many people’s diets, but they do not correct all nutritional deficiencies. More than half of men and two-thirds of women use supplements, especially older adults and those with higher education. Supplement users often already have a relatively diverse and healthy diet. Food should nevertheless remain the primary source of nutrients for all population groups.

Plant-based dietary patterns support both human and environmental health and wellbeing. According to the Health Finland 2022–2023 study, 9 percent of adults followed a plant-based diet. Most adults followed a mixed diet, but one third of women and nearly one quarter of men ate red meat no more than once a week.

There are nutritional differences between population groups and regions

Women with higher education, higher income and those living in urban areas have diets that align most closely with nutritional recommendations. Regionally, recommended food choices are most common in the capital region and in the largest cities. In addition to other factors, regional food culture traditions may influence these differences.

How does ageing appear in dietary habits?

The eating habits of people over 65 are in many ways healthier than those of younger age groups. According to the Health Finland study, nearly half of older adults eat fish according to recommendations. More than one third eat vegetables, fruits and berries several times a day. Daily consumption of whole grains is also more common among older adults.

How do employed people eat?

Employers and food service providers play an important role in enabling health‑promoting diets. According to Health Finland 2022–2023, the most common weekday lunch practice was still eating at home or having a packed lunch at the workplace. Eating in a workplace canteen was the third most common option.

Only half of respondents had access to a workplace or educational institution canteen at all, most commonly those with higher education. This highlights socioeconomic differences in diet, as food choices in workplace canteens are closer to nutritional recommendations than lunches eaten elsewhere.

How do children and adolescents eat?

So far, information on children’s and young people’s eating habits has come mainly from the School Health Survey, conducted every two years. The survey collects data on whether meals are eaten, but not on their quality or content.

In 2025, over 70 percent of pupils in grades 4 and 5 reported eating breakfast every school day. Among adolescents, the shares were lower – for example, among first- and second‑year students in vocational institutions, less than half ate breakfast every school day.

Daily school lunch consumption has been surveyed only among adolescents. It is most common among upper secondary school students and least common in grades 8 and 9. Boys eat daily school lunch clearly more often than girls.

Snacking has increased among schoolchildren and students; studies show that snacks can account for nearly half of total daily energy intake.

Thus far, the overall nutrition of adolescents has been studied relatively little in Finland, and nationally representative data have been lacking. Smaller studies indicate that young people eat fewer vegetables, fruits and berries than recommended, and that boys also consume more red and processed meat than recommended. Intakes of fibre, folate and thiamine are lower than recommended, while salt and saturated fat intakes are too high.

Comprehensive data on adolescent nutrition will become available in 2026, when the results of THL’s Adolescent Nutrition Study are published.