Vegetarian children at more risk of being underweight

CHILDREN raised on a vegetarian diet are twice as likely to be underweight than their meat-eating friends, a study claims.

Researchers found vegetarian children have similar growth and nutrition to those who eat meat, but face a far higher risk of being underweight.

Dr Jonathon Maguire, a paediatrician and lead author of the study from St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, said: “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.”

The scientists found no discernible difference in the growth of children who were vegetarians and those who ate animal-derived foods. However, Dr Maguire did find a link between vegetarianism and being underweight.

“Vegetarian diet was associated with higher odds of underweight weight status, underscoring the need for careful dietary planning for underweight children when considering vegetarian diets,” he said.

The team analysed data from 8,907 children between six and eight months old, between 2008 and 2019. They found children on a vegetarian diet had similar body mass index (BMI), height, iron, vitamin D and cholesterol levels to those who ate meat, but were almost twice as likely to be underweight.

There was no link between the diets and being overweight or obese. Being underweight is an indicator of undernutrition, and may be a sign that the child’s diet is not meeting the nutritional needs to support normal growth. Researchers recommended growth monitoring, education and guidance to support the nutrition of children who eat a vegetarian diet.

Dr Maguire said: “Plant-based dietary patterns are recognised as a healthy eating pattern due to increased intake of fruits, vegetables, fibre, 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.”

The team admitted vegetarian diets come in many forms, and the quality of the individual diet may be important to growth and nutritional outcomes.

They said 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 other animal-derived products such as dairy, eggs and honey.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, comes after another paper on the environmental benefits of ditching meat for plant-based alternatives.

A team at the University of Helsinki found that if everyone stuck to an “optimised vegan diet” the amount of land needed for food production would be cut by 80 per cent and water by 82 per cent. An “optimised omnivore diet”, where a person still ate eggs, dairy and fish, resulted in almost the same reduction, with declines of 80 and 83 per cent respectively.