In January, a record-breaking 168,500 people registered to take part in the Veganuary challenge, now in its fourth year. The organization has since conducted a survey to find out how those participants are getting on after their month of eating a vegan diet.

The results of the survey found that 82% of people who responded who were not vegan to begin with stuck to their meat- and dairy-free diet for more than 95% of the month. A further 62% of these participants stated they intended to continue with the lifestyle for the foreseeable future.

The campaign reports that 86% of these participants said that while participating in Veganuary they gained a deeper understanding of the impact that eating animal products has on the environment and the lives of farm animals. In addition, 67% of survey respondents said they had noticed improved health at the end of the campaign.

Nearly all of those surveyed (99%) said they would recommend Veganuary to family and friends. For every 100 people who registered, an additional 12 family members, friends or colleagues also participated, the campaign notes. Forty-percent of the people who answered the survey said they ate an omnivorous diet before taking part in the four-week challenge, 16% of people said they ate a pescatarian diet, 33% were vegetarians and only 11% were already vegans.

Animal welfare was the main driving factor behind many of the sign-ups, with 43% listing it as their main motivation for taking part. Another 39% stated they took part for their health and 10% noted environmental concerns as their primary reason for participating. Additionally, 83% of survey respondents were female, 15% were male, with the other 2% made up of those who do not conform to gender and other categories.

“2018 has been a stellar year for Veganuary, with tens of thousands of people discovering the benefits of a vegan diet and deciding to stick with it once the month is over,” Simon Winch, the Chief Executive of Veganuary told Vegan Food and Living.

“Right across the world, people are recognising that each of us can truly make a difference to our health, to animals and to the environment, and we can do it easily – and tastily – three times a day.” He added. “Small changes that we make have a huge collective impact, and for the two-thirds of our participants who reported health benefits in just four weeks, there is another incentive to remain vegan.”

Image Credit: Veganuary