A study of nearly 9,000 children found that those who ate a vegetarian diet had similar growth and nutrient intakes to those who ate meat. Research, published Pediatrics and led by researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital of Unity Health Toronto, It has also been found that children eating a vegetarian diet are more likely to be underweight, emphasizing the need for special care when planning meals for vegetarian children.
The findings come as the consumption of plant-based foods grows in Canada. In 2019, updates to Canada’s Food Guide urged Canadians to replace meat with plant-based proteins, such as beans and tofu.
“Over the past 20 years we’ve seen a changing food environment with the growing popularity of plant-based diets and more access to plant-based options, but we haven’t seen research on the nutritional outcomes of children following a vegetarian diet in Canada,” said Dr. Jonathan Maguire, lead author of the study and St. Michael’s. A pediatrician at Unity Health Toronto Hospital.
“This study shows that Canadian children consuming a vegetarian diet had similar increases in nutrient and biochemical measurements compared to children consuming a vegetarian diet. Vegetarian diets were associated with a higher likelihood of underweight status, emphasizing the need for careful diet planning for underweight children when considering a vegetarian diet.”
Researchers evaluated 8,907 children aged six months to eight years. All of the children were participants in TARGet Kids! The cohort study and data were collected between 2008 and 2019 Participants were categorized by vegetarian status – defined as a dietary pattern that excludes meat – or non-vegetarian status.
The researchers found that children who ate a vegetarian diet had similar average body mass index (BMI), height, iron, vitamin D and cholesterol levels compared to those who ate meat. The findings showed evidence that vegetarian children were almost twice as likely to be underweight, defined as being below the third percentile of BMI. No evidence of an association with overweight or obesity was found.
Underweight is an indicator of malnutrition, and can be a sign that the quality of the baby’s diet is not meeting the baby’s nutritional needs to support normal growth. For children who eat a vegetarian diet, researchers emphasize access to health care providers who can provide growth monitoring, education, and guidance to support their growth and nutrition.
International guidelines on vegetarian diets in infancy and childhood have different recommendations, and past studies that have evaluated the relationship between vegetarian diets and childhood growth and nutritional status have found conflicting results.
A plant-based diet is recognized as a healthy eating pattern due to its reduction in fruits, vegetables, fiber, whole grains, and saturated fat; However, few studies have evaluated the effects of vegetarian diets on childhood growth and nutritional status. A vegetarian diet appears to be suitable for most children,” said Dr Maguire, who is also a scientist at St Michael’s Hospital’s MAP Center for Urban Health Solutions.
A limitation of the study is that the researchers did not assess the quality of the vegetarian diet. The researchers noted that vegetarian foods come in many forms and can be quite important for increasing individual diet quality and nutritional outcomes. The authors say more research is needed to examine the quality of vegetarian diets in childhood, as well as growth and nutritional outcomes in children following a vegetarian diet, which excludes meat and animal-derived products such as dairy, eggs and honey.
The study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation and the SickKids Foundation.