I was excited until I started trying to find their sources and they ended up just self referencing their own articles. Kind of an odd practice to not directly link their studies. Makes me not trust them. Glad to see you linking some in the comments though.
Regarding physical growth and body composition, lacto-ovo-vegetarian children had significantly lower height and weight than omnivores, while vegan children were on average slightly shorter.
Well that’s certainly something. Reading the actual study, it seems like it takes significantly more work to ensure a child on a vegan diet receives enough vitamins B12 & D, calcium, and bioavailable iron.
Evidence on bone health in children adhering to plant-based diets remains limited. Among the few studies available on lacto-ovo-vegetarian children, lower bone mineral content has been observed, while findings on bone turnover markers, such as CTX-I, have been inconsistent. For vegan children, pooled analyses could not be conducted due to a lack of data.
This is the only outright advantage of a plant-based diet cited by the researchers:
Finally, a relevant advantage of plant-based diets in children is a more favorable cardiovascular risk profile. Our meta-analysis found significantly lower total and LDL cholesterol levels in lacto-ovo-vegetarian and vegan children compared to omnivores, likely reflecting higher fiber intake and lower consumption of SFA and cholesterol (Desmond, Fewtrell, and Wells Citation2024). However, HDL cholesterol was also lower. This pattern, commonly observed in adults on low-fat diets, may result from reduced SFA intake and possibly lower endogenous cholesterol synthesis
wtf is this “can be” bs?
thats like saying rain falls, we know.
where is the study?
Most studies find that vegan diet is unhealthy to he children. Don’t let some flashy headline shape your opinion
Most studies find that vegan diet is unhealthy to he children.
This is an opinion not a fact.
Physicians are becoming more involved in helping their patients adopt healthier lifestyles. Healthy eating may be best achieved with a plant-based diet (which encourages whole, plant-based foods and discourages meats, dairy products, and eggs as well as all refined and processed foods). Research shows that these diets are cost-effective, low-risk interventions that may lower body mass index, blood pressure, HbA1C, and cholesterol levels, and may also reduce the number of medications needed to treat chronic diseases.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3662288/
“Children reared as vegans can grow up to be normal children. There is no evidence that their intellectual functioning is impaired or that the vegan diet adversely affects their physical stamina.”
https://sci-hubtw.hkvisa.net/10.1093/ajcn/48.3.822
“The results of the VeChi Youth Study confirms the position of several national nutrition or paediatric societies that a vegetarian, including a vegan, diet can meet the recommended nutrient requirements in childhood and adolescence.”
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/5/1707
“In conclusion, our results indicate that a VG and VN diet in early childhood provides comparable amounts of energy and a macronutrient pattern in accordance with recommendations and can ensure normal growth, as there were no significant differences in proxy-reported anthropometrics compared to OM children of the same age.”
your FOUR STUDIES are not “most studies”
How are you realistically going to supply vitamin D in sufficient quantities? What about Calcium? Or vitamin B12? On top of that vegans often have issues with supplying necessary amount of calories. It just happens I studied human nutrition and the mainstream scientific consensus is pretty clear: Don’t do this. If you’re 18-20 - be my guest, but for children vegan diet is harmful
