Teen Vegetarians Healthier Than Meat-Eaters -Study

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Sun May 12, 4:08 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.