Vegans are no healthier than meat eaters

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Men and women who do not eat any animal products in their diets are generally considered by the public to be particularly health conscious. As noted in a statement on Thursday, researchers at the Center for Public Health at the Medical University of Vienna have now studied the diet and physical activity behaviors of vegans and have found a discrepancy between appearance and reality in many cases.

According to the study, vegans exercise more often than average, but the widespread consumption of industrially processed foods in this group cannot be classified as “healthy.” The study results were recently published in the journal Nutrients.

For the study, led by MedUni scientists Maria Wakolbinger and Sandra Haider, 516 people answered questions about their eating habits in an online survey. At the time, all participants had been vegan for at least three months and averaged 28 years of age. “Vegan should not be equated with ‘healthy,'” Wakolbinger said.

Higher risk of death from all causes

The research team identified two groups of vegans: those following a ready-made diet (53 percent), characterized by higher consumption of processed fish and meat alternatives, vegan savory snacks, sauces, cakes, desserts, ready meals, juices, and refined grains.

“The adverse health effects of industrially processed foods are now clearly proven in research,” says Wakolbinger. People who eat a mixed diet have a 29 percent higher risk of all-cause death if they primarily consume convenience foods. The increased risk of being overweight or obese increases by up to 51 percent, for cardiovascular disease to 29 percent, and for type 2 diabetes mellitus to 74 percent.

Cooked more often with fresh ingredients

Vegans (47 percent), who are classified as health-conscious, consume more vegetables, fruits, protein and dairy alternatives, potatoes, whole grain products, vegetable oils and fats. According to the study, this group mostly cooks with fresh ingredients.

Although vegans generally exercised more frequently than the average population, physical activity behavior also differed between the two vegan study populations. “As our study shows, the health-conscious group exercise significantly more than people who might be assigned to the fast food diet,” said first author Haider. (SDA/jmh)

Source : Blick