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Study Shows Vegetarians to Be Less Healthy but Happy!
- Updated: April 4, 2014
According to the results of a controversial research, vegetarians are found to be less healthy when compared to non-vegetarians in spite of smoking less, drinking less, and being more active physically than their meat-eating counterparts.
The Austria-based Medical University of Graz conducted a research, which concluded that the vegetarian diet comprising of vegetables, fruits, and whole grain foods seemed to come with high risks of allergies, cancer, and mental health issues like anxiety, and depression.
Statistics from the Austrian Health Interview Survey were used for this research in order to assess the dietary practices and lifestyle changes between vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Around 1320 people who took part in the study were matched based on their sex, age, and socioeconomic status.
It integrated 330 vegetarians, 330 meat-eaters who also consumed lots of vegetables and fruits, 300 normal eaters who consumed less meat and 330 subjects who were on a heavy meat diet.
It was seen that the intake of alcohol among vegetarians was less and they also had comparatively low body mass indexes, though they had a poorer overall mental and physical health condition.
Subjects who consumed less meat also had an inclination to avoid consulting doctors for preventive steps like vaccines, according to the authors of the study.
The conclusion of the study stated, “Our study has shown that Austrian adults who consume a vegetarian diet are less healthy (in terms of cancer, allergies, and mental health disorders), have a lower quality of life, and also require more medical treatment.”
Nathalie Burkert, an epidemiologist and a coordinator for the study told that they found vegetarians to be more prone to conditions like cancer, asthmas, and mental disorders when compared to those who consumed meat. However, she was not certain about the cause. According to her, further research needs to be conducted before answering this query.
