Vegetarians Less Healthy?

[Misfit]

http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2014/04...althy-lower-quality-of-life-than-meat-eaters/

ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) – Vegetarians may have a lower BMI and drink alcohol sparingly, but vegetarian diets are tied to generally poorer health, poorer quality of life and a higher need for health care than their meat-eating counterparts.
A new study from the Medical University of Graz in Austria finds that vegetarians are more physically active, drink less alcohol and smoke less tobacco than those who consume meat in their diets. Vegetarians also have a higher socioeconomic status and a lower body mass index. But the vegetarian diet — characterized by a low consumption of saturated fats and cholesterol that includes increased intake of fruits, vegetables and whole-grain products — carries elevated risks of cancer, allergies and mental health disorders.

 

[Blobbenstein]

But the vegetarian diet — characterized by a low consumption of saturated fats and cholesterol that includes increased intake of fruits, vegetables and whole-grain products

well, my veg diet wouldn't have been characterised by that for 3 decades.

Overall, vegetarians were found to be in a poorer state of health compared to other dietary groups. Vegetarians reported higher levels of impairment from disorders, chronic diseases, and “suffer significantly more often from anxiety/depression.”

I bet they found that vegetarians worried more about animal welfare too, if they asked. Maybe eating vegetables leads people to worry about animals.

 

[PTree15]

It's better for my mental health to refrain from eating animals.

 

[Second Summer]

I haven't read the whole study, but I did notice the "vegetarian" group includes fish eaters - more than half of the "vegetarians" eat fish, it seems:

While 0.2% of the interviewees were pure vegetarians (57.7%
female), 0.8% reported to be vegetarians consuming milk and eggs
(77.3% female), and 1.2% to be vegetarians consuming fish and/
or eggs and milk (76.7% female). 23.6% reported to combine a
carnivorous diet with lots of fruits and vegetables (67.2% female),
48.5% to eat a carnivorous diet less rich in meat (60.8% female),
and 25.7% a carnivorous diet rich in meat (30.1% female). Since
the three vegetarian diet groups included a rather small number of
persons (N = 343), they were analyzed as one dietary habit group.

Since fish at least in some areas are polluted with heavy metals, that may explain the higher incidence of cancer. Other studies that look at cancer rates in vegetarians vs. meat eaters have found that the meat eaters have a higher incidence of cancer.

 

[SummerRain]

A study conducted at the Medical Institute of Graz in Austria compared the 1320 subjects (age, sex and socioeconomic status matched) and found that vegetarians consumed less alcohol, had lower BMIs but are less healthy in terms of cancer, allergies and mental health. (Reported by the Independent)

The study’s authors have already defended the research against claims that their work is simply an advertisement for the meat industry.

Study coordinator and epidemiologist Nathalie Burkert told The Austrian Times: “We have already distanced ourselves from this claim as it is an incorrect interpretation of our data.

"We did find that vegetarians suffer more from certain conditions like asthma, cancer and mental illnesses than people that eat meat as well, but we cannot say what is the cause and what is the effect.

“There needs to be further study done before this question can be answered.”

I don't know what the population of vegetarians in Austria is like, but few countries have big ethics based vegetarian populations. I wonder how many people with (eg) cancer went vegetarian because they were ill, I know some people recovering from some types of cancer are recommended to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet.

 

[Clueless Git]

I know some people recovering from some types of cancer are recommended to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet.

When not chained to the kitchen sink The Chovie works with cancer patients.

I'm pretty sure she will have some input on that.

 

[Second Summer]

(I merged the two threads since they seem to be about the same study.)

 

[Second Summer]

Ginny Messina has a blog post where she outlines some of the problems with this study:
http://www.theveganrd.com/2014/04/are-vegetarians-less-healthy-than-meat-eaters.html

 

[ledboots]

Ginny Messina has a blog post where she outlines some of the problems with this study:
http://www.theveganrd.com/2014/04/are-vegetarians-less-healthy-than-meat-eaters.html

Interesting. She says:
" One important thing that the researchers did not share in their discussion was that this was actually their second study on the health of vegetarians. Their first study came to completely different conclusions. That research gathered data from 15,474 people who participated in the Austrian Health Interview Survey. It found better self-reported health among the vegetarians as well as the omnivores who ate lots of fruits and vegetables. In fact, they concluded that public health measures are needed to reduce the health risks associated with “carnivorous” diets.

The study that found poorer health among vegetarians used a subset of the same study population. The subset was predominantly female and nearly half of them were under the age of 30. We can’t extrapolate these findings to the vegetarian population at large."

 

[SummerRain]

(I merged the two threads since they seem to be about the same study.)

Ah, sorry! I must have missed this

 

[SummerRain]

More responses...

The NHS points out:

• Not everybody in the "vegetarian" category was actually vegetarian.
  
• Various aspects of health/lifestyle were compared. Some were favourable for the "vegetarians" and some were not.
• The study has many flaws, including that it was a cross-sectional survey, so no link of cause and effect can be established (i.e. it just surveyed a bunch of people at one point in time)
• The sample of 330 "vegetarians" was small
• No sources of funding for the study were provided
• Associations could be because people with health problems switch to a vegetarian/low meat diet because they are perceived generally to be healthier.

Despite the media headlines, the results from this Austrian cross sectional survey provide no proof that vegetarians are in poorer health than meat eaters.

The study has simply compared a group of people with a “vegetarian” diet with three different groups of people following “carnivorous” diets on a range of different health and lifestyle measures to see if any differences are observed.

The vegetarian society say:

An Austrian study from the University of Graz has attracted controversy over potentially misleading headlines, following publication of data comparing vegetarians and meat eaters.

The study - Nutrition and Health – The Association between Eating Behavior and Various Health Parameters: A Matched Sample Study -attempted to 'match' different groups of people according to age and aspects of lifestyle to determine whether any patterns in health could be observed according to their choice of vegetarian or meat-based diet.

Results purported to show associations between vegetarianism and higher levels of allergy, mental health issues and cancer.
Following comments from the scientific community in response to the publication, the lead author Nathalie Burkert cautioned that the results of her study could not be taken to imply a causal link. She also admitted that participants were not given clear instructions about the definition of 'vegetarian' and that because of this half those in the group of 330 so-called vegetarians were in fact fish-eaters.

More importantly it was she said, a characteristic of a cross-sectional study that no direct cause and effect could be attributed to the findings.

In other words people could just as readily have chosen a vegetarian diet because they are suffering from cancer or allergies as the other way round.

Other critics of the study's findings pointed out that because the authors had 'matched' the participants using very wide age ranges rather than by exact age the age differences alone were enough to produce flawed results.

 

[Nookah]

Hello,
It's surely not the place here to ask that question, but I'm vegeterian since 3 years now and I was wondering if yes or no, we do have more lacks in some nutrients ?
I know that my iron is ok, but waht about the rest ? What about must I be careful ?
Thank you

 

[Second Summer]

Hello,
It's surely not the place here to ask that question, but I'm vegeterian since 3 years now and I was wondering if yes or no, we do have more lacks in some nutrients ?
I know that my iron is ok, but waht about the rest ? What about must I be careful ?
Thank you

It depends on your particular diet. Vegetarians seem to live longer, in general, so if that is an indication, then no, vegetarians have less nutrient deficiencies. Things to look out for, that are often mentioned, are vitamin B12 (especially if you consume little or no dairy), and vitamin D (especially if your skin is not regularly exposed to sunshine). There are other things as well, such as certain minerals, such as iodine. In some countries iodine is added to table salt, so you will get some that way.

 

[yakherder]

Many people who already have health problems become vegetarians because they believe it will fix those problems. The fact that it doesn't magically make them better does not equate to causation, otherwise I'd have to conclude that cough drops cause people to cough since they tend to be consumed by people who cough a lot.

 

[@rno]

I am nearly 60 years old. A lifelong vegetarian. I have never seen a general practitioner for health problems.