Vegan kids are skinnier and shorter than meat-eating children

Vegan children tend to be thinner and shorter than their meat-eating peers.

Researchers from the United States, Italy and Australia examined data from 59 studies involving nearly 48,000 children and adolescents consuming different diets in 18 countries.

The findings show that a meat-free diet may be healthy, but can lead to growth deficiencies if not managed carefully.

Overall, vegan children were up to 4 cm shorter than omnivores, and both vegan and vegetarian teenagers had a lower body mass index (BMI); this is a measure of body fat relative to height, which when too low can signal thinness.

The team compared 7,280 vegetarians, 1,289 vegans and 40,059 omnivores. Vegetarians were, on average, 0.69 kg lighter and 1.19 cm shorter than meat eaters, while vegans were 1.17 kg lighter and 3.64 cm shorter.

Plant-based diets may lack essential nutrients needed for growth, such as vitamin B12, calcium, iron, iodine, selenium and zinc, which are especially important during childhood and adolescence.

Study author Dr. from Deakin University in Australia. Wolfgang Marx said: “Well-planned vegetarian and vegan diets are nutritionally adequate and beneficial for adults. [But] “There is much less clarity about their suitability for children, leading to inconsistent and even contradictory advice for parents.”

He added: “Our findings suggest that a balanced approach is needed, with families paying close attention to specific nutrients (particularly vitamin B12, calcium, iodine, iron and zinc) to ensure their children get everything they need to thrive.”

Co-author Professor Monica Dinu, from the University of Florence, added to the Daily Mail: “The included studies involved children and adolescents ranging in age from infancy to late adolescence, depending on the individual study.”