The consumption of vegetables has increased, especially in the last 20 years. The consumption of fruits and berries also increased until the mid 1990's, but then seemed to level off. By contrast, the consumption of grain and potatoes was quite high in the 1950's, and then turned downwards until the 1990's. Since then both grain and potato consumption have remained quite stable. Dietary habits and food choices vary by gender, age and area.
Women eat more vegetables, fruits and berries, but less bread and potatoes than men.
The group eating fresh vegetables less frequently is the one composed of the youngest men, while the youngest of both genders eat potatoes and fruits less frequently than others. People living in Eastern Finland eat bread, and rye bread in particular, more than those living in other parts of Finland. Meat consumption doubled from the 1950's to the early 1970's. Since then it has been rather stable, although the preferences in different types of meat have changed. Pork, the fat content of which has decreased remarkably, is still the most common type of meat consumed, but the consumption of poultry has increased remarkably since the early 1980's.