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Study finds teen vegetarians healthier than meat-eaters

 

May 13, 2002 Posted: 12:44 PM EDT (1644 GMT)

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. Dep

artment of Health and Human Services.

 

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.