Background: Plant-based diets (PBDs) are increasingly recommended for human and planetary health. However, comprehensive evidence on the health effects of PBDs in children remains incomplete, particularly in vegans.
Objectives: To quantify differences in body composition, cardiovascular risk, and micronutrient status of vegetarian and vegan children relative to omnivores and to estimate prevalence of abnormal micronutrient and cholesterol status in each group.
Methods: In a cross-sectional study, Polish children aged 5-10 y (63 vegetarian, 52 vegan, 72 matched omnivores) were assessed using anthropometry, deuterium dilution, DXA, and carotid ultrasound. Fasting blood samples, dietary intake, and accelerometry data were collected.
Results: All results are reported relative to omnivores. Vegetarians had lower gluteofemoral adiposity but similar total fat and lean mass. Vegans had lower fat indices in all regions but similar lean mass. Both groups had lower bone mineral content (BMC). The difference for vegetarians attenuated after accounting for body size but remained in vegans (total body minus the head: -3.7%; 95% CI: -7.0, -0.4; lumbar spine: -5.6%; 95% CI: -10.6, -0.5). Vegetarians had lower total cholesterol, HDL, and serum B-12 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] without supplementation but higher glucose, VLDL, and triglycerides. Vegans were shorter and had lower total LDL (-24 mg/dL; 95% CI: -35.2, -12.9) and HDL (-12.2 mg/dL; 95% CI: -17.3, -7.1), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, iron status, and serum B-12 (-217.6 pmol/L; 95% CI: -305.7, -129.5) and 25(OH)D without supplementation but higher homocysteine and mean corpuscular volume. Vitamin B-12 deficiency, iron-deficiency anemia, low ferritin, and low HDL were more prevalent in vegans, who also had the lowest prevalence of high LDL. Supplementation resolved low B-12 and 25(OH)D concentrations.
Conclusions: Vegan diets were associated with a healthier cardiovascular risk profile but also with increased risk of nutritional deficiencies and lower BMC and height. Vegetarians showed less pronounced nutritional deficiencies but, unexpectedly, a less favorable cardiometabolic risk profile. Further research may help maximize the benefits of PBDs in children.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqaa445 | DOI Listing |
Nutrients
January 2025
Department of Psychology, Counselling, and Therapy, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3083, Australia.
Background: Vegetarianism and veganism have long been tied to disordered eating and are frequently considered to be methods of limiting available food choices. Health professionals specializing in eating disorder treatment may modify their treatment practices to support their vegetarian or vegan clients. However, there are no formally recognized clinical guidelines for the treatment of eating disorders in these groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNutr Health
January 2025
EvolvingFX, Jupiter, FL, USA.
Background: Over the past two decades, there has been an increase in the prevalence of psychological conditions, such as depression, anxiety, disordered eating, and body image disturbances. In concert with this trend, there was a substantial rise in the advocacy and practice of restrictive dietary patterns, such as veganism and vegetarianism. These parallel developments suggest a relation between diet and mental health, but to date, research has failed to offer clear answers on whether these associations are causal, coincidental, or more complex than superficial analyses suggest.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Nutr
January 2025
Evidence Analysis Center, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Chicago, IL, United States. Electronic address:
Curr Osteoporos Rep
January 2025
Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
Purpose Of Review: This review aims to summarise recent evidence on the effects of dietary patterns on the risk of bone fractures and sarcopenia.
Recent Findings: Several dietary patterns have been investigated in relation to musculoskeletal health, including Mediterranean Dietary Patterns (MDP), Dietary Inflammatory Indices, vegetarian and vegan diets. Adherence to 'healthier' dietary patterns appears to be protective against fractures and sarcopenia, with the strongest protective associations found between the MDP and fractures.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth
January 2025
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Dr. Molewaterplein 40, Rotterdam, 3015 CE, Netherlands.
Background: Growing evidence demonstrates that maternal nutrition is crucial for the health of the mother-to-be, and early life course of the offspring. However, for most micronutrients, guidelines are inconsistent. This Delphi study aimed to investigate the level of expert consensus on maternal nutrition and micronutrient needs during preconception, pregnancy and lactation.
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