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Meta-analysis finds vegetarian diets effective in lowering cholesterol, glucose and weight – Medical Xpress
- Meta-analysis finds vegetarian diets effective in lowering cholesterol, glucose and weight Medical Xpress
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Children With Vegetarian Diet Have Similar Growth and Nutrition Compared to Meat-Eating Peers
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A new research study finds children with a vegetarian diet have similar growth and nutrition compared to children who eat meat.
However, children with a vegetarian diet had increased odds of underweight weight status.
A study of almost 9,000 children revealed that those who eat a vegetarian diet had similar measures of growth and nutrition compared to kid’s who eat meat. The research also found that children with a vegetarian diet had increased odds of underweight weight status, emphasizing the need for special care when planning the diets of vegetarian kids. The study was published on May 2, 2022, in the journal Pediatrics and led by researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital of Unity Health Toronto.
The findings come as a shift to consuming a plant-based diet accelerates in Canada. In 2019, updates to Canada’s Food Guide urged Canadians to embrace plant-based proteins, such as beans, nuts, and tofu, instead of meat.
Dr. Jonathon Maguire, pediatrician at St. Michael’s Hospital of Unity Health Toronto and a scientist at MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital. Credit: Unity Health Toronto
“Over the last 20 years we have seen growing popularity of plant-based diets and a changing food environment with more access to plant-based alternatives, however we have not seen research into the nutritional outcomes of children following vegetarian diets in Canada,” said Dr. Jonathon Maguire, lead author of the study and a pediatrician at St. Michael’s Hospital of Unity Health Toronto.
“This study demonstrates that Canadian children following vegetarian diets had similar growth and biochemical measures of nutrition compared to children consuming non-vegetarian diets. A vegetarian diet was associated with higher odds of underweight weight status, underscoring the need for careful dietary planning for children with underweight when considering vegetarian diets.”
Researchers evaluated 8,907 children aged six months to eight years. The children were all participants of the TARGet Kids! cohort study and data was collected between 2008 and 2019. Participants were categorized by vegetarian status – defined as a dietary pattern that excludes meat – or non-vegetarian status.
Researchers found children who had a vegetarian diet had similar mean body mass index (BMI), height, iron, vitamin D, and cholesterol levels compared to those who consumed meat. The findings showed evidence that children with a vegetarian diet had almost two-fold higher odds of having underweight, which is defined as below the third percentile for BMI. There was no evidence of an association with overweight or obesity.
Underweight is an indicator of undernutrition, and may be a sign that the quality of the child’s diet is not meeting the child’s nutritional needs to support normal growth. For children who eat a vegetarian diet, the researchers emphasized access to healthcare providers who can provide growth monitoring, education and guidance to support their growth and nutrition.
International guidelines about vegetarian diet in infancy and childhood have differing recommendations, and past studies that have evaluated the relationship between vegetarian diet and childhood growth and nutritional status have had conflicting findings.
“Plant-based dietary patterns are recognized as a healthy eating pattern due to increased intake of fruits, vegetables, fiber, whole grains, and reduced saturated fat; however, few studies have evaluated the impact of vegetarian diets on childhood growth and nutritional status. Vegetarian diets appear to be appropriate for most children,” said Dr. Maguire, who is also a scientist at MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital.
A limitation of the study is that researchers did not assess the quality of the vegetarian diets. The researchers note that vegetarian diets come in many forms and the quality of the individual diet may be quite important to growth and nutritional outcomes. The authors say further research is needed to examine the quality of vegetarian diets in childhood, as well as growth and nutrition outcomes among children following a vegan diet, which excludes meat and animal-derived products such as dairy, egg, and honey.
Reference: “Vegetarian diet, growth, and nutrition in early childhood: A longitudinal cohort study” by Laura J. Elliott, RD, MSc; Charles D.G. Keown-Stoneman, PhD; Catherine S. Birken, MD, MSc, FRCPC; David J.A. Jenkins, MD, PhD, DSc, FRSC, FRCP, FRCPC; Cornelia M. Borkhoff, MSc, PhD; Jonathon L. Maguire, MD, MSc, FRCPC on behalf of the TARGet KIDS! COLLABORATION, 2 May 2022, Pediatrics.
DOI: 10.1542/peds.2021-052598
The study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation and SickKids Foundation.
Children With Vegetarian Diet Have Similar Growth and Nutrition Compared to Children Who Eat Meat
Summary: Children who follow a vegetarian diet have similar measures of growth and nutrition as those who eat meat. However, vegetarian children had higher odds of being underweight compared to those who eat meat.
Source: St. Michael’s Hospital
A study of nearly 9,000 children found those who eat a vegetarian diet had similar measures of growth and nutrition compared to children who eat meat.
The study, published in Pediatrics and led by researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital of Unity Health Toronto, also found that children with a vegetarian diet had higher odds of underweight weight status, emphasizing the need for special care when planning the diets of vegetarian kids.
The findings come as a shift to consuming a plant-based diet grows in Canada. In 2019, updates to Canada’s Food Guide urged Canadians to embrace plant-based proteins, such as beans and tofu, instead of meat.
“Over the last 20 years we have seen growing popularity of plant-based diets and a changing food environment with more access to plant-based alternatives, however we have not seen research into the nutritional outcomes of children following vegetarian diets in Canada,” said Dr. Jonathon Maguire, lead author of the study and a pediatrician at St. Michael’s Hospital of Unity Health Toronto.
“This study demonstrates that Canadian children following vegetarian diets had similar growth and biochemical measures of nutrition compared to children consuming non-vegetarian diets. Vegetarian diet was associated with higher odds of underweight weight status, underscoring the need for careful dietary planning for children with underweight when considering vegetarian diets.”
Researchers evaluated 8,907 children age six months to eight years. The children were all participants of the TARGet Kids! cohort study and data was collected between 2008 and 2019. Participants were categorized by vegetarian status – defined as a dietary pattern that excludes meat – or non-vegetarian status.
Researchers found children who had a vegetarian diet had similar mean body mass index (BMI), height, iron, vitamin D, and cholesterol levels compared to those who consumed meat.
The findings showed evidence that children with a vegetarian diet had almost two-fold higher odds of having underweight, which is defined as below the third percentile for BMI. There was no evidence of an association with overweight or obesity.
Underweight is an indicator of undernutrition, and may be a sign that the quality of the child’s diet is not meeting the child’s nutritional needs to support normal growth. For children who eat a vegetarian diet, the researchers emphasized access to healthcare providers who can provide growth monitoring, education and guidance to support their growth and nutrition.
International guidelines about vegetarian diet in infancy and childhood have differing recommendations, and past studies that have evaluated the relationship between vegetarian diet and childhood growth and nutritional status have had conflicting findings.
“Plant-based dietary patterns are recognized as a healthy eating pattern due to increased intake of fruits, vegetables, fiber, whole grains, and reduced saturated fat; however, few studies have evaluated the impact of vegetarian diets on childhood growth and nutritional status.
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“Vegetarian diets appear to be appropriate for most children,” said Dr. Maguire, who is also a scientist at MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital.
A limitation of the study is that researchers did not assess the quality of the vegetarian diets. The researchers note that vegetarian diets come in many forms and the quality of the individual diet may be quite important to growth and nutritional outcomes.
The authors say further research is needed to examine the quality of vegetarian diets in childhood, as well as growth and nutrition outcomes among children following a vegan diet, which excludes meat and animal derived products such as dairy, egg, and honey.
Funding: The study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation and SickKids Foundation.
About this diet and neurodevelopment research news
Author: Jennifer Stranges
Source: St. Michael’s Hospital
Contact: Jennifer Stranges – St. Michael’s Hospital
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: The findings will appear in Pediatrics
Vegetarian and meat-eating children have similar growth and nutrition but not weight, study finds
“Over the last 20 years we have seen growing popularity of plant-based diets and a changing food environment with more access to plant-based alternatives, however we have not seen the research into the nutritional outcomes of children following vegetarian diets in Canada,” said Dr. Jonathon Maguire, the study’s lead author and a pediatrician at St. Michael’s Hospital of Unity Health Toronto, in a news release.
The authors used data from nearly 9,000 children who were between 6 months and 8 years old and had participated in the TARGet Kids! Cohort between 2008 and 2019. TARGet Kids! is a primary care practice-based research network and cohort study in Toronto. Details on the diets these children ate were according to their parents, who answered whether their children were vegetarian (which included vegans) or non-vegetarian.
During each health supervision visit over the years, research assistants for TARGet Kids! measured participants’ body-mass index, weight, height, cholesterol levels, triglycerides, vitamin D levels and serum ferritin levels. Ferritin is a cell protein that stores iron and enables the body to use iron when needed, so a ferritin test indirectly measures blood iron levels, according to Mount Sinai Health System.
At the beginning of the study, 248 children (including 25 vegans) were vegetarian, and 338 more children had become vegetarian sometime later during the study. Children were followed up with for nearly three years on average. There weren’t any significant differences between vegetarian and non-vegetarian children regarding standard BMI, height, serum ferritin levels and vitamin D levels.
However, vegetarian children were nearly twice as likely to be underweight than non-vegetarian children.
Being underweight can be a sign of malnutrition and can indicate that one’s diet isn’t enough to support appropriate growth, according to the study news release. Specific details about dietary intake or quality, and physical activity, weren’t available to the authors — which could influence growth and nutrition.
Studies with longer follow-up periods and information on motivations for eating vegetarian — such as socioeconomic status — would also be helpful for understanding links between children’s development and vegetarianism, the authors said.
The findings highlight “the need for careful dietary planning for children with underweight when considering vegetarian diets,” Maguire said.
“The kids that were underweight both in vegetarian and non-vegetarian (groups) were similar and were younger in age and of Asian descent,” said Amy Kimberlain, a registered dietitian nutritionist and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson. Kimberlain wasn’t involved in the study.
“Ethnicity could certainly have played a part in the weight finding,” said Dr. Maya Adam, a clinical assistant professor in the pediatrics department at Stanford School of Medicine, who wasn’t involved in the study.
The Asian children “were likely of East Indian descent, because this subset of the ‘Asian’ demographic box (which I also end up choosing as a person of Indian heritage) is much more likely to practice vegetarianism,” Adam said via email. “In India, children’s growth charts differ from US growth charts. An average 5-year-old girl in India is expected to weigh 17 kilograms and stand about 108 centimeters tall. In the US, an average 5-year-old girl of the same height is expected to weigh 18 kg.”
Regardless, “it’s important for kids to be monitored for their growth, regardless of their diet,” Kimberlain said. “A vegetarian diet can be a healthy choice for all kids. The key is making sure that it is well planned out. With the help of a registered dietitian nutritionist, kids’ growth can be monitored as well as their nutrients needs to ensure they are being adequately consumed.”
If you and your children are experimenting with eating vegetarian or vegan, having alternative options is important “in case one day they like something and the next day they don’t,” Kimberlain said.
Guidelines by country
When feeding babies and children a vegetarian diet, parents should ensure regular consumption of eggs, dairy products, soy products and nuts or seeds, in addition to vegetables, fruits, beans and lentils, grains and oils, the current US Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend.
Be extra careful to include foods rich in iron and vitamin B12, since plant-based sources of those nutrients are less bioavailable compared with animal foods. Different beans, dark leafy greens and sweet potatoes are iron-rich. And nutritional yeast, dairy products and cereals are some vitamin B12 sources. The guidelines have a graphic table on appropriate servings of each food group per day.
Canadian guidelines say a vegetarian diet can be adequate for children when milk and eggs are included.
High cholesterol: A vegetarian diet could significantly reduce dangerous cholesterol in we
A collaboration between researchers from Keio University, Japan, and the George Washington University conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of a plant-based diet and plasma lipids (i.e. cholesterol levels). Observing data from 30 observational studies and 19 clinical trials, all showed that consumption of vegetarian diets was associated with lower cholesterol levels compared to omnivorous (plant and animal) diets. The researchers noted: “Plant-based diets are associated with decreased total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, but not with decreased triglycerides.”
The charity explained: “High-density lipoprotein (HDL) carries low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where the LDL is broken down and passed from the body.”
The NHS verified that total cholesterol levels should be five or below in the blood test results.
HDL (good cholesterol), specifically, should be one or above; LDL (bad cholesterol) should be three or below.
A total cholesterol blood test also measures non-HDL bad cholesterol and triglycerides.
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“You might be able to get separate results for your good and bad cholesterol and triglycerides,” the health service stated. “Ask your doctor or nurse.”
What are triglycerides?
Heart UK – the cholesterol charity – explained: “Triglycerides are a type of blood fat.
“They are our main source of energy and are essential for good health. But if you have too much in your blood, this can raise the risk of heart disease.”
Triglycerides can be found in meat, Heart UK added, so eradicating meat from the diet could potentially lower levels.
The charity said: “Eating plenty of plant foods is a key part of managing raised cholesterol.
“This means eating plenty of fruit, vegetables, wholegrain cereals, peas, beans, lentils and nuts and choosing foods low in saturated fat and salt.”
A key dietary approach to lower cholesterol levels involves five portions of fruits and vegetables daily, wholegrain starchy foods at every meal, a variety of protein-rich plant foods, and healthy fats.
Wholegrain starchy foods include wholemeal chapattis, brown rice, wholemeal pasta, and quinoa.
Other starchy foods:
- Wholemeal breads
- Oats
- Barley
- Popcorn (without added salt and sugar)
- Buckwheat
- Amaranth
Protein-rich plant foods include: beans, peas, lentils, tofu, soya mince, seitan, unsalted nuts, and seeds.
Healthy fats include olive oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, soya oil, peanuts, nuts, seeds and avocados.
As well as following a healthy vegetarian diet to lower cholesterol levels, it is also important to control portion sizes.
Vegetarian tortoise attacks and eats bird in ‘horrifying’ video
Watch out for tortoises.
While it’s been believed that tortoises are vegetarian, a newly released video seems to suggest otherwise. According to researchers, changes in the environment may have caused certain animals to change their behaviors.
Footage filmed on Fregate Island in the Indian Ocean shows a tortoise attacking and then eating a tern chick. Cambridge University released the video on various platforms, where it called out the odd behavior for a supposedly ‘vegetarian’ animal.
Dr. Justin Gerlach, who is a director of studies at Peterhouse, Cambridge and an affiliated researcher at the University of Cambridge’s Museum of Zoology, led a study based on the footage.
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“The giant tortoise pursued the tern chick along a log, finally killing the chick and eating it,” he said. “It was a very slow encounter, with the tortoise moving at its normal, slow walking pace – the whole interaction took seven minutes and was quite horrifying.”
He theorized that unusual conditions on the island may have played a role in the encounter.
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“These days Frégate island’s combination of tree-nesting terns and giant tortoise populations is unusual, but our observation highlights that when ecosystems are restored totally unexpected interactions between species may appear; things that probably happened commonly in the past but we’ve never seen before,” he explained.
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Anna Zora, a conservation manager on the island, filmed the footage in July 2020. She said that she happened upon the encounter and started filming once she realized what she was witnessing. Fregate Island is a privately owned island in the Seychelles island grouping.