The newest research at European Congress on Obesity (ECO) reveals that those who eat a vegetarian diet or a more plant-centered diet are less likely to become obese than those who follow an animal-centered diet.
Vegetarian Diet and Weight Loss
This observational study found that people who ate a high pro-vegetarian diet cut their risk of developing obesity almost in half compared to those who were least pro-vegetarian and more animal-product based. Pro-vegetarian/plant-based diets are diets where members have a higher consumption of plant-based food than animal-based food. In direct contrast, animal-based diets are diets that revolve around animal products such as meat and dairy products rather than produce and plant-based products.
The study was carried out by University of Navarra student Julen Sanz under the supervision of Dr. Alfredo Gea and Professor Maira Bes-Rastrollo from the University of Navarra and CIBERobn (Carlos III Institute of Health), Spain.
Researchers examined the association between varying degrees of plant-based diet and the incidence of obesity using about 16,000 healthy, non-obese adults from the SUN Cohort (Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra), a study tracking the health of Spanish graduates since 1999.
Participants completed detailed food questionnaires at the start of the study, and researchers used a pro-vegetarian diet index (PVI) to score each participant on the types of food they ate. Points were given for eating seven plant food groups — vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, olive oil, legumes (such as peas, beans, and lentils), and potatoes. Points were subtracted for five animal groups — animal fats, dairy, eggs, fish and other seafood, and meat. Based on their scores, participants were categorized into five groups from the 20% with the least pro-vegetarian diet (group 1) to the 20% with the most (group 5) and researchers followed each group for an average of 10 years.
During the follow-up, researchers observed that 584 participants had become obese. The researchers found that participants who closely followed a pro-vegetarian diet were less likely to become obese. Modelling showed that compared to the least-vegetarian participants, the most vegetarian group had a 43% reduced risk of developing obesity. For the middle groups 2, 3, and 4, the reduced risk of obesity was 6%, 15%, and 17%, respectively. These results held true when not taking into account other influential factors, including sex, age, alcohol intake, BMI, family history of obesity, snacking between meals, smoking, sleep duration, and physical activity.
The authors do acknowledge that their findings show more observational differences rather than evidence of direct cause and effect. They conclude: “Our study suggests that plant-based diets are associated with substantially lower risk of developing obesity. This supports current recommendations to shift to diets rich in plant foods, with lower intake of animal foods.”
Minimize the Risk
So, if you or your family are showing signs of developing obesity or have obesity, it might be time to consider switching to a more plant-based diet to lose some weight and see if you can get out of the obese weight category. Research is still being done to delve into the direct correlation between obesity and plant-centered diets, but eating more produce is almost never a bad idea. Chronic and long-term obesity have some severe consequences, such as having high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, developing type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and breathing problems like asthma or sleep apnea. Eating a plant-based diet has been known to reduce the risk and effects of a lot of these conditions. Current evidence suggests that such a pro-vegetarian diet has a protective role in cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Plant-Based vs. Vegetarian
When talking about plant diets, lots of people immediately jump to extreme vegetarians or vegans, but the truth is you don’t have to completely eliminate certain foods to have a plant-based diet. Plant-centered diets don’t have to be completely and strictly vegetarian. They can include some animal-based products, but these animal products aren’t the center of your diet or meals. For example, the Mediterranean Diet is plant-based and known to promote heart health and lower cholesterol, but it still includes animal products like fish, eggs, and chicken. This is because those who follow a Mediterranean diet or a plant-based diet are consciously choosing animal products that are better for them, such as chicken instead of red meat and probiotic Greek yogurt instead of sweetened and artificially flavored yogurt. Make the switch today and start making more conscious choices about what foods you put in your body.
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