The most popular diets in the world might surprise you. Or it might disappoint you if you’re emotionally attached to a certain way of living through your food.
In the recent past, I covered topics like:
But this time around I’ll focus on which diet is the most popular.
I’ll be comparing the following diets:
Mediterranean Diet.
- Keto Diet.
- Vegan Diet.
- Carnivore Diet.
- Paleo Diet.
I did wanna add the “low fat” diet to this list as well as the Vegetarian plus Pescetarian diet, but those diets are not only less popular when I compared, but you can only compare 5 trends at the same time.
So keep that in mind.
You can also check the results yourself towards the end and adjust the data.
Google Trends is the source.
Keto, Mediterranean, Paleo, Carnivore, Vegan statistics – last 12 months (2022-2023)
When comparing from 2022 you can see how dominant the ketogenic diet is compared to everything else. The red bar is high as f*ck.
The Mediterranean diet is holding its own though, no doubt about that much. This is expected considering how well-studied, promoted, and effective the lifestyle has been for years and years.
The Carnivore diet dominates the vegan and paleo diets, giving it 3rd place status since 2022. This rise will only continue in the years to come.
The vegan diet beats the paleo diet but not by much when you consider the Paleo diet is criticized as being a “fad” the way Keto was as well.
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Keto, Mediterranean, Paleo, Carnivore, Vegan stats in the past 5 years (2018-2023)
When comparing from the last 5 years (2018-2023) the ketogenic diet is obviously the king of the castle.
The gap is clear despite the trend line dipping over time.
Next in line is the Mediterranean diet. It’s held steadily over time.
Then it’s a battle between Paleo vs Vegan, the former being called “a fad” diet which is ironic considering how the trends say otherwise.
Carnivore comes close to paleo and vegan, with its main rise coming since 2022.
Keto, Mediterranean, Paleo, Carnivore, Vegan diet trends from 2004 till today
As we can see, the ketogenic diet gained MASSIVE popularity between 2012-2015. In fact, the spike is so big that it’s now the most popular diet of all time.
It was non-existent in 2004 and the few years after it.
In the early stages, the Mediterranean diet was the king, and the Paleo diet came afterwards during that time, with the Vegan diet struggling against both diets long before keto started to rise.
The only diet Vegan beats when compared from 2004 is the Carnivore diet, which has only started gaining steam since 2022 more than any other year.
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Top 7 countries for those interested in a Mediterranean diet (since 2004)
- Italy.
- Greece.
- Turkey.
- Spain.
- Poland.
- United States.
- Japan.
Canada, Australia, and Portugal are 8th, 9th, and 10th measuring from 2004.
Top 7 Mediterranean diet countries since 2022
- United States.
- Canada.
- Ireland.
- Australia.
- New Zealand.
- United Kingdom.
- Egypt.
Western countries seem most interested in the Mediterranean diet, along with even Japan, and places like Egypt being a surprise.
European countries like Spain shouldn’t surprise anyone for obvious reasons.
As one of the most popular diets which are well-studied, the Mediterranean diet’s inclusion and popularity should be unsurprising in anyone’s mind.
Top 7 countries for those interested in a keto diet (since 2004)
- Indonesia.
- Saudi Arabia
- The Philippines.
- United Arab Emirates.
- Malaysia.
- India.
- Singapore.
With the France being 8th, Hong Kong being 9th, and Mexico being 10th since 2004 for keto.
Top 7 keto diet countries since 2022
- Pakistan.
- Romania.
- The Philippines.
- Malaysia
- Saudi Arabia.
- Spain.
- United Arab Emirates.
The ketogenic diet when compared is clearly dominant in Asian countries compared to other diets on this list.
Not only is it consistently the most popular diet of all time, especially as far as 2023, but Asian countries (where many people reside) take the top spot.
Spain and Romania are outliers in the top 7 in particular. Places like Mexico and France come afterwards (and Hong Kong).
Top 7 countries for those interested in a vegan diet (since 2004)
- The Netherlands.
- Poland.
- Germany.
- United Kingdom.
- Ireland.
- Greece.
- Portugal.
Top 7 vegan diet countries since 2022
- India.
- Germany.
- The Netherlands.
- Poland
- Turkey.
- Brazil.
- Egypt.
When you pay close attention to this list, you can see INDIA and Western countries like the UK are high on the list.
Some European countries like Germany, Poland, and The Netherlands are also here.
Even Ireland has some interest in the Vegan diet.
The UK in particular along with India are known as hot spots for veganism.
Top 7 countries for those interested in a paleo diet (since 2004)
- Brazil.
- New Zealand.
- Australia.
- Ireland.
- United States.
- Portugal.
- The Netherlands.
Top 7 paleo diet countries since 2022
- India.
- Thailand.
- Mexico.
- Canada
- United Arab Emirates.
- Singapore.
- Hong Kong.
The Paleo diet, also known as “the caveman diet” relates to a time when humans were around 2.5 million years ago.
This diet is called a FAD diet by many, and yet here it is competing with the “tried and true” vegan diet in particular.
Seems to be very popular in Asian countries, with very few Western or European countries. With Ireland being an interesting addition along with Mexico.
Top 7 countries for those interested in a carnivore diet (since 2004)
- Sweden.
- The Netherlands.
- Thailand.
- Poland.
- Germany.
- Japan.
- Australia.
With South Africa being 8th, Ireland being 9th, and Greece being 10th since 2004 for carnivores.
Top 7 carnivore diet countries since 2022
- Sweden.
- The Netherlands.
- Indonesia
- Poland.
- Germany
- Thailand.
- Australia.
Notice how the top 7 are a mixture of Asian countries, Western countries, and European countries?
Sweden in particular is very high when talking about the carnivore diet and the advocates they have there (statistics wise).
Same for Thailand which shows up in 2 different data sets for the Carnivore diet, and Germany. Netherlands, etc.
These places LOVE meat (Japan as well).
SOURCES:
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