Beneficial Role of Vegetarian Diet in Reducing Weight and the Risk of Diabetes

by | Oct 1, 2012 | 2009, Diabetes, Fruits and Vegetables, Pancreatic Health, Vegetarianism, Weight Control

Written by Tatjana Djakovic, Staff Writer. In a study of 60,903 Seventh Day Adventists, the Body Mass Index was 18% higher in non vegetarians compared to vegans and the risk of diabetes was 380% greater. Data was also given on other types of vegetarians. 

There is a variety of vegetarian diets that play a beneficial role in promoting health and preventing obesity. (1). The type of vegetarian diets range from diets that leave out all animal meats and products (vegan) to diets that include eggs, milk, and milk products (lacto-ovo vegetarian) or fish in addition to eggs, milk, and milk products (pesco -vegetarian).(2) Previous large studies including Nurses Health Study, showed that consumption of  red and processed meats were associated with increased risk of diabetes (3) and Seventh-Day Adventists study, in which diabetes was less prevalent in vegetarian churchgoers (4).

The limitations of these popular studies include being conducted in 1960’s-1970’s, consisting of primarily non-Hispanic whites, and not specifying the type of vegetarianism. In order to investigate if vegetarian diets reduce the risk of diabetes in current diverse populations, a new study was conducted consisting of 22,434 men and 38,469 women who participated in the Adventist Health Study conducted in 2002 to 2006. In order to get a more representative sample, race, ethnicity, education and income were also considered in addition to the food frequency questionnaire.  (5)

The results showed that the average body mass index (BMI) was lowest in vegans (23.6 kg/m2) and incrementally higher in lacto-ovo vegetarians (25.7 kg/m2), pesco- vegetarians (26.3 kg/m2), semi-vegetarians (27.3 kg/m2) and non-vegetarians (28.8 kg/m2). The prevalence of diabetes increased from 2.9% in vegans, 3.2% in lacto-ovo, 4.8% in pesco, 6.1% in semi-vegetarian and 7.6% in non-vegetarians. The 5%t BMI difference between vegans and non-vegetarians indicates a significant potential of a vegetarian diet to protect against obesity. (5)

The main finding was the vegan and lacto-ovo vegetarian diets were associated with a nearly one-half reduction in risk of type 2 diabetes compared with the risk associated with non-vegetarian diets. It is proposed that animal protein stimulates insulin secretion and possibly insulin resistance, and vegetarian diets are rich in fruits, foods that reduce oxidative stress and chronic inflammation.  (6)

Source: Tonstad, Serena, et al. “Type of vegetarian diet, body weight, and prevalence of type 2 diabetes.” Diabetes care 32.5 (2009): 791-796.

© 2009 by the American Diabetes Association. Creative Commons Attribution License  (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0

Posted October 1, 2012.

References:

  1. Rosell M et al., Weight gain over 5 years in 21,966 meat eating, fish-eating, vegetarian, and vegan men and women in EPIC-Oxford. Int J Obes 2006;30:1389-1396.
  2. Vegeterian and Vegan Diet – posted on Medicine.Net website.
  3. Fung TT et al., Dietary patterns, meat intake, and the risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Arch Intern Med 2004;164:2235–2240.
  4. Snowdon DA, et al., Does a vegetarian diet reduce the occurrence of diabetes? Am J Public Health 1985;75:507–512.
  5. Tonstad S. et al, Type of Vegeterian Diet, Body Weight, and Prevelence of Type 2 Diabetes. 2009; 32:791-796.
  6. Galgani JE, et al., Effect of the dietary fat quality on insulin sensitivity. Br J Nutr 2008;100:471-479.