Are Vegetarians Healthier?

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Vegetarians have a lower body weight, on average, compared with nonvegetarians.
 
A recent scientific review of 87 studies on vegetarian diets and body weight concluded that excluding meat and other animal products from one’s diet can result in healthy weight loss, even without additional exercise or calorie counting. Observational studies included in the review, which was published in the journal Nutrition Reviews, have shown that vegetarians have a body weight that is, on average, 3 percent to 20 percent lower than that of meat-eaters. The review found that obesity rates in vegetarian populations range from 0 percent to 6 percent.

Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, according to a formal position statement issued by the American Dietetic Association (ADA), which also concludes that appropriately planned vegetarian and vegan diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.

A study of Seventh-day Adventists, 40 percent of whom follow a meatless diet, linked vegetarian eating patterns to lower body mass index (BMI), according to a review by the ADA. In the study, BMI increase was directly correlated with meat consumption in both men and women.

It is a myth that pasta, bread, potatoes, and rice are fattening. In fact, carbohydrate-rich foods are perfect for permanent weight control. Carbohydrates contain less than half the calories of fat, which means that replacing fatty foods with complex carbohydrates automatically cuts calories.

Although protein and carbohydrates have almost the same number of calories per gram, foods that are high in protein—particularly animal products—are also usually high in fat. Even “lean” cuts of meat have much more fat than a healthy body needs. And again, animal products lack fiber. Fiber helps make foods more satisfying without adding many calories, and it is only found in foods from plants.