The Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award has released a list of 25 “essential activities every teenager should do”, which includes trying veganism or vegetarianism, volunteering for a charity and partaking in a digital detox.

The DofE Award, founded by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh more than six decades ago, recognises young people for completing challenges including helping the community, improving their fitness and taking part in expeditions.

The registered charity recently conducted a survey to discover the “best character hacks for teens”, outlining activities believed to provide young people with the tools to build their “confidence, independence and resilience”, which in turn could support their wellbeing and help them achieve success.

The 4,000 participants who took part in the survey included a combination of members of the public, education professionals, parents, young people and business leaders.

One of the activities featured on the list is “Try vegetarianism or veganism”, with the DofE Award outlining that in the UK, veganism has grown in popularity exponentially over the past decade, a trend that has been “largely driven by young people”.

Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Show all 13 1 /13 Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Miley Cyrus The pop singer is a passionate animal rights advocate, telling Vanity Fair in 2019 that her diet also reflects her fashion choices: "I’m challenging the system more than ever. Choosing to live as a sustainable vegan activist means wearing more vintage (less waste; loving pieces for longer), playing with the newest eco-materials and technology, and making custom vegan pieces with some of my favorite designers." Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Alicia Silverstone The Clueless star went vegan shortly after wrapping the hit 1990s film and has been a passionate campaigner for animal rights since. Speaking in a video for Compassionate Meals in 2017, she said: "Knowing the truth about where our food comes from is just so disturbing to me. Once you see it, there’s no way to go back from that for me." Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Simon Cowell The music mogul revealed in a recent interview with The Sun that he decided to give up animal products earlier this year "on a whim", adding that he feels much better as a result. Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Venus Williams "I started for health reasons," Williams told Health in 2019. "I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, and I wanted to maintain my performance on the court. Once I started I fell in love with the concept of fueling your body in the best way possible. Not only does it help me on the court, but I feel like I’m doing the right thing for me." Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Natalie Portman The American-Israeli actor decided to go vegan eight years ago after learning more about the environmental consequences of eating animal products. Speaking at an Environmental Media Awards benefit, 2017, she said: "Factory farming is responsible for most of the air, water, and land pollution - that disproportionately affects our poor communities as well. So we get to make decisions three times a day, what we do with our planet, and you can make a difference by even once a day or once a week choosing not to eat animals or animal products." AFP/Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Beyoncé While she chooses to refer to herself as plant-based as opposed to vegan, the 'Halo' singer underwent a 22-day vegan challenge with husband Jay-Z in 2013 and is believed to have maintained the diet ever since. Writing in the foreword of The Greenprint: Plant-Based Diet, Best Body, Better World by Marco Borges, the couple say: "We used to think of health as a diet – some worked for us, some didn’t. Once we looked at health as the truth, instead of a diet, it became a mission for us to share that truth and lifestyle with as many people as possible." Getty/Coachella Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman David Haye The British boxer extolled the virtues of veganism in an interview with The Daily Telegraph in 2016: "A lot of the meat that people eat has been genetically modified, or if it hasn’t then the food the animal’s been fed has been. That’s tough for a human being to process, so cutting it out made me feel immediately better and stronger than ever." Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Ariana Grande The 'Dangerous Woman' singer announced she was going vegan in November 2018. Speaking to The Daily Mirror in a recent interview, she explained: "A lot of the meat that people eat has been genetically modified, or if it hasn’t then the food the animal’s been fed has been. That’s tough for a human being to process, so cutting it out made me feel immediately better and stronger than ever." AFP/Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Ellie Goulding The British singer has been toying with veganism for a while, having been a vegetarian for seven years. Speaking to The Cut in 2018, she revealed that she will "never eat fish or meat again" and eats a predominantly vegan diet. Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Mike Tyson The former heavyweight boxing champion revealed he had become vegan in 2010. "I wish I was born this way," he told Fox News in 2011. "When you find out about the processed stuff you have been eating. I wonder why I was crazy all those years." Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Jessica Chastain The Zero Dark Thirty star decided to go vegan roughly 13 years ago because of low energy. Speaking to W Magazine in 2017, she clarified: "being vegan was not anything I ever wanted to be. I just really was listening to what my body was telling me." Getty Images Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Rooney Mara Mara has been vegan for eight years, telling Harper's Bazaar in 2018 "it’s better for your health and the environment.” Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Kim Kardashian Reality star Kim Kardashian West revealed that she has started eating a plant-based diet on Instagram in April 2019. Sharing two photographs of vegan dishes on her Instagram story, the 38-year-old wrote: “I am eating all plant-based when I am at home.” Getty

“You might want to switch to a plant-based diet for health reasons or because you’re worried about the environmental impact of meat and dairy,” the organisation states.

“As a young person, you’ll increasingly make these kinds of decisions about your life – you’re becoming independent and you want to stand up for the things you believe in.”

The charity adds that if a young person is considering adopting a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, they should do research and speak to their friends and family about their decision.

According to The Vegan Society, it is estimated that a quarter of the British population will be made up of vegans and vegetarians by 2025.

The society adds that approximately one in 10 British children aged between eight and 16 are vegan or vegetarian, with 44 per cent reportedly trying to consume less meat, dairy and eggs in their diets.

Another suggested activity for teenagers on the list is to try to spend less time on their digital devices, a course of action that may prove easier said than done for those who habitually check their social media feeds on a regular basis.

“Switching off for a good chunk of time can have lots of benefits. You’ll reconnect with people and things in the real world,” the DofE Award outlines.

“Of course, technology is a big part of most jobs now and an important way to keep in touch with friends and family – so we’re not saying don’t use it at all –just try to strike the right balance between the time you spend online and offline.”

As part of the release of its Experience List, the DofE Award conducted research to discover how young people feel about their career prospects.

According to the organisation’s findings, 44 per cent of the surveyed teenagers said they don’t feel they are give sufficient opportunity to build their confidence, resilience or independence, more than half said they had never had a part-time job and 43 per cent said they had never campaigned for a cause they felt strongly about.

The DofE Award is calling on the government to “ensure that all schools are adequately resourced for character education”, suggesting that its Experience List become a formalised checklist.

Nicola Foyle, a teacher and a DofE manager at High Grange School, said she believes it would be “beneficial” for the government to formalise the activity checklist.