Vegetarian children are almost twice as likely to be underweight than their meat-eating peers, a study found.
Researchers led by St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, followed 9,000 children – including 250 vegetarians – from about their second to fifth birthdays.
Those who follow a plant-based diet have, on average, the same height, body mass index (BMI) and diet as those who eat meat.
But they were also 94% more likely to be underweight when their BMI was calculated.
Scientists suggest that this may be due to the fact that a plant-based diet does not contain enough nutrients for growing children.
But they added that this may also be due to the fact that more Asian children are vegetarians, whose BMI is more likely to show as underweight.
Vegetarian children are almost half as likely to be underweight as their peers, study found (photo file)
Being a vegetarian has never been more popular in the United States in modern history, with about 10 percent of people now saying they eat only plant-based foods – up from two percent many decades ago.
Many health experts say that it is quite possible to get all the nutrients you need with a “well-planned” vegetarian diet.
But some European countries have warned against giving young people a vegan diet – which excludes eggs and milk – because of the risk of malnutrition.
How to eat healthy as a vegetarian
Below is what vegetarians need to eat to stay healthy.
Doctors say that contrary to popular belief, most vegetarians get enough protein and calcium in their diet:
- A variety of fruits and vegetables every day or at least five servings;
- Starchy carbohydrate dishes such as potatoes, bread and cereals;
- Dairy products or dairy alternatives such as cheese and yoghurt for calcium;
- Eat beans, legumes, eggs and other sources of protein. Nuts and seeds can also be a good source;
- Use unsaturated oils and spreads;
- Do not eat foods high in fat, salt and sugar on a regular basis.
Source: NHS
In a study published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers used data from Canadian children TARGet! a study that monitors children until 2019
There was an even division by gender between the participants and almost two thirds were of European descent.
Of the nearly 8,700 young people who eat meat, about 78% (6,600 people) were healthy.
This was similar to the vegetarian group, where 79 percent (192) were also healthy.
But only about three percent of carnivores are included in the underweight category (274).
By comparison, a total of six percent of vegetarians (15) are marked as underweight.
Dr Jonathan Maguire, a pediatrician at the hospital who led the study, said: “A vegetarian diet is associated with a higher chance of being underweight.
“This underscores the need for careful diet planning for underweight children when considering vegetarian diets.”
He also suggested that the results could be due to more Asian children who are in the vegetarian group.
Dr Maguire told CNN: “In India, child growth charts are different from those in the United States.
“The average five-year-old girl in India is expected to weigh 17 kilograms and be about 108 centimeters tall. In the United States, an average five-year-old girl of the same height is expected to weigh 18 pounds.
BMI is calculated by dividing weight by height, but experts warn that this is an imperfect measure, as it cannot take into account age, gender and ethnicity, among other factors.
The study also found that children who ate meat were more likely to be overweight or obese in 18 percent of the group (1,522 people) than vegetarians in 14 percent (34 people).
Both groups have similar levels of cholesterol, triglycerides – a type of fat – and serum ferritin – a measure of iron content.
At the beginning of the study, scientists suggested that vegetarians may have less iron because they do not eat any meat.
The document also includes 25 children who are vegans, but this group is too small to compete with the others.
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