Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T09:46:15.907Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Height, age at menarche, body weight and body mass index in life-long vegetarians

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Magdalena Rosell ,
Paul Appleby  and
Tim Key
Magdalena Rosell*
Affiliation:
Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, Gibson Building, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford OX2 6HE, UK
Paul Appleby
Affiliation:
Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, Gibson Building, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford OX2 6HE, UK
Tim Key
Affiliation:
Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, Gibson Building, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford OX2 6HE, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objective

We investigated whether life-long adherence to a vegetarian diet is associated with adult height, age at menarche, adult body weight and body mass index (BMI), used as indicators of growth, development and obesity, in a large sample of adults.

Design

This was a cross-sectional study. Anthropometric data and information on age, ethnicity, education, age at menarche and age at becoming a vegetarian were obtained through a questionnaire. Self-reported height and weight were calibrated using predictive equations derived from a previous validation study.

Setting

United Kingdom.

Subjects

The study includes 45 962 British men and women aged ≥ 20 years of whom 16 083 were vegetarians (not eating fish or meat).

Results

In men and women, there were no significant differences in height, weight or BMI between life-long vegetarians (n = 125 (men) and n = 265 (women)) and people who became vegetarian at age ≥ 20 years (n = 3122 (men) and n = 8137 (women)). Nor was there a significant difference in age at menarche between life-long vegetarian women and women who became vegetarian at age ≥ 20 years.

Conclusion

This study suggests that, compared with people who become vegetarian when adult, life-long vegetarians do not differ in adult height, weight, BMI or age at menarche in women.

Keywords

VegetariansGrowthDevelopment
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 8 , Issue 7 , October 2005 , pp. 870 - 875
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2005

References

1 The Vegetarian Society of the UK. Summary of RealEat polls 1984–2001 [online]. Available at http://www.vegsoc.org/info/realeat/html. Accessed 1 October 2004.Google Scholar
2The 2003 Vegetarian Resource Group Harris Interactive survey. How many vegetarians are there? [online]. Available at http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2003issue3/vj2003issue3poll.htm. Accessed 1 October 2004.Google Scholar
3American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada. Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: vegetarian diets. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2003; 103: 7748–65.Google Scholar
4Sabate, J, Lindsted, KD, Harris, RD, Sanchez, A. Attained height of lacto-ovo-vegetarian children and adolescents. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1991; 45: 51–8.Google ScholarPubMed
5Sabate, J, Lindsted, KD, Harris, RD, Johnston, PK. Anthropometric parameters of schoolchildren with different life-styles. American Journal of Diseases of Children 1990; 144: 1159–63.Google ScholarPubMed
6Sabate, J, Llorca, MC, Sanchez, A. Lower height of lacto-ovo-vegetarian girls at preadolescence: an indicator of physical maturation delay?. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1992; 92: 1263–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7Davey, GK, Spencer, EA, Appleby, PN, Allen, NE, Knox, KH, Key, TJ. EPIC-Oxford: lifestyle characteristics and nutrient intakes in a cohort of 33 883 meat-eaters and 31 546 non meat-eaters in the UK. Public Health Nutrition 2003; 6: 259–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8Spencer, EA, Appleby, PN, Davey, GD, Key, TJ. Validity of self-reported height and weight in 4808 EPIC-Oxford participants. Public Health Nutrition 2001; 5: 561–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9Sabate, J, Duk, A, Lee, CL. Publication trends of vegetarian nutrition articles in biomedical literature, 1966–1995. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1999; 70(Suppl.): 601S–7S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10Rona, RJ, Chinn, S, Duggal, S, Driver, AP. Vegetarianism and growth in Urdu, Gujarati, and Punjabi children in Britain. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 1987; 41: 233–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11Hebbelinck, M, Clarys, P, DeMalche, A. Growth, development, and physical fitness of Flemish vegetarian children, adolescents, and young adults. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1999; 70(Suppl.): 759S–85S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12Nathan, I, Hackett, AF, Kirby, S. A longitudinal study of the growth of matched pairs of vegetarian and omnivorous children, aged 7–11 years, in the north-west of England. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1997; 51: 20–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13Sanders, TA, Purves, R. An anthropometric and dietary assessment of the nutritional status of vegan preschool children. Journal of Human Nutrition 1981; 35: 349–57.Google ScholarPubMed
14Sanders, TA. Growth and development of British vegan children. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1988; 48(Suppl.3): 822–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15O'Connell, JM, Dibley, MJ, Sierra, J, Wallace, B, Marks, JS, Yip, R. Growth of vegetarian children: the Farm Study. Pediatrics 1989; 84: 475–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16Shull, MW, Reed, RB, Valadian, I, Palombo, R, Thorne, H, Dwyer, JT. Velocities of growth in vegetarian preschool children. Pediatrics 1977; 60: 410–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17Dwyer, JT, Palombo, R, Valadian, I, Reed, RB. Preschoolers on alternative life-style diets. Associations between size and dietary indexes with diets limited in types of animal foods. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1978; 72: 264–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18Dwyer, JT, Andrew, EM, Berkey, C, Valadian, I, Reed, RB. Growth in ‘new’ vegetarian preschool children using the Jenss–Bayley curve fitting technique. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1983; 37: 815–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19van Staveren, WA, Dagnelie, PC. Food consumption, growth, and development of Dutch children fed on alternative diets. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1988; 48(Suppl.3): 819–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20Dagnelie, PC, van Staveren, WA. Macrobiotic nutrition and child health: results of a population-based, mixed-longitudinal cohort study in The Netherlands. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1994; 59(5 Suppl.): 1187S–96S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21Hebbelinck, M, Clarys, P. Physical growth and development of vegetarian children and adolescents. In: Sabate, J, ed. Vegetarian Nutrition. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press LLC, 2001; 173–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22Koprowski, C, Ross, RK, Mack, WJ, Henderson, BE, Bernstein, L. Diet, body size and menarche in a multiethnic cohort. British Journal of Cancer 1999; 79: 1907–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23Koo, MM, Rohan, TE, Jain, M, McLaughlin, JR, Corey, PN. A cohort study of dietary fibre intake and menarche. Public Health Nutrition 2001; 5: 353–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24Maclure, M, Travis, LB, Willett, W, MacMahon, B. A prospective cohort of nutrient intake and age at menarche. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1991; 54: 649–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25de Ridder, CM, Thijssen, JH, Van't Veer, P, van Duuren, R, Bruning, PF, Zonderland, ML, et al. Dietary habits, sexual maturation, and plasma hormones in pubertal girls: a longitudinal study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1991; 54: 805–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
26Soriguer, FJ, Gonzalez-Romero, S, Esteva, I, Garcia-Arnes, JA, Tinahones, F, Ruiz de Adana, MS, et al. Does the intake of nuts and seeds alter the appearance of menarche?. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica 1995; 74: 455–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27Moisan, J, Meyer, F, Gingras, S. Diet and age at menarche. Cancer Causes & Control 1990; 1: 149–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28Persky, VW, Chatterton, RT, VanHorn, LV, Grant, MD, Langenberg, P, Marvin, J. Hormone levels in vegetarian and nonvegetarian teenage girls: potential implications for breast cancer risk. Cancer Research 1992; 52: 578–83.Google ScholarPubMed
29Spencer, EA, Appleby, PN, Davey, GK, Key, TJ. Diet and body mass index in 38 000 EPIC-Oxford meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 2003; 27: 728–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
30Appleby, PN, Thorogood, M, Mann, J, Key, TJ. Low body mass index in non-meat eaters: the possible roles of animal fat, dietary fibre and alcohol. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 1998; 22: 454–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
31Fraser, GE. Associations between diet and cancer, ischemic heart disease, and all-cause mortality in non-Hispanic white California Seventh-day Adventists. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1999; 70(Suppl.): 532S–8S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed