Teen vegetarians healthier than meat-eaters - study

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Teen vegetarians healthier than meat-eaters - study

Sunday May 12, 6:50 PM ET

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Grandma may be upset that her teen-age son will not eat

her chicken casserole, but U.S. researchers say vegetarian teen-agers have a

healthier diet than their meat-eating counterparts.

What many parents may fear is youthful rebellion or even an unhealthy way of

keeping off weight is actually a good way to get the recommended vitamins and

minerals -- and avoid fatty junk food in the process, a team at the University

of Minnesota found.

" It seems that rather than viewing adolescent vegetarianism as a difficult phase

or fad, the dietary pattern could be viewed as a healthy alternative to the

traditional American meat-based diet, " epidemiologist Cheryl Perry and

colleagues wrote in Sunday's issue of the journal Archives of Pediatric

Adolescent Medicine.

They studied more than 4,500 teen-agers, with an average age of about 15, from

31 middle schools and high schools in Minnesota. Of them, about 262, or nearly 6

percent, said they were vegetarian.

They compared the diets of these boys and girls to the Healthy People 2010

recommendations, which are dietary targets issued by the U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services (news - web sites).

They include goals of getting less than 30 percent of one's daily calories from

fat and less than 10 percent from saturated fat, eating more than two servings

of fruit and three servings of vegetables daily.

" Overall, adolescent vegetarians were significantly more likely to meet the

dietary recommendations of Healthy People 2010, " Perry's group wrote.

" Vegetarian adolescents were more than twice as likely to eat less than 30

percent of their calories from fat and nearly three times more likely to eat

less than 10 percent of their calories from saturated fat, " they added.

" They were also 1.4 to two times more likely to eat two or more servings of

fruit, three or more servings of vegetables ... and five or more servings of

fruits and vegetables daily. "

Both the vegetarians and the meat-eaters failed to get enough calcium every day,

the researchers found, but the vegetarians got significantly more iron, vitamin

A, folate and fiber.

They also drank more diet soda and caffeine, which the researchers said

reflected the desire of most of the teen-agers to keep weight off.

" Vegetarian adolescents, similar to their adult counterparts, have dietary

patterns that, if maintained, could significantly lower their risk of the

leading causes of death as adults, " the researchers said.

 

 

 

 

 

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