Editing Vegetarianism (section)

== Health research ==
{{Quote box
 |quote = On average, vegetarians consume a lower proportion of calories from fat (particularly saturated fatty acids), fewer overall calories, more fiber, potassium, and vitamin C, than do non-vegetarians. Vegetarians generally have a lower body mass index. These characteristics and other lifestyle factors associated with a vegetarian diet may contribute to the positive health outcomes that have been identified among vegetarians.
|source = ''Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010'' – A report issued by the [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]] and the [[U.S. Department of Health and Human Services]]<ref>{{cite report |chapter=Chapter 5: Building Healthy Eating Patterns |title=Dietary Guidelines for Americans |year=2010 |chapter-url=http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/PolicyDoc/Chapter5.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001728/http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/PolicyDoc/Chapter5.pdf |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date=May 25, 2011}}</ref>
|width = 25%
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[[File:Countries (States and Subnational Regions) and Their Positions on Vegetarian Diets in Food-Based Dietary Guidelines.svg|thumb|[[Countries]]' positions on vegetarian diets within their food-based [[dietary guidelines]]:
{{legend|#019c00|Supporters}}
{{legend|#ffc502|Informers}}
{{legend|#ff8800|Uninformed}}
{{legend|#c11f1f|Critics}}
{{legend|#bababa|No guidelines}}
{{legend|#616161|Guideline not analysed}}]]
[[File:Acorn Soup (4827753894).jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Acorn noodle soup]]]]
[[File:Fruit Stall in Barcelona Market.jpg|thumb|right|A fruit stall in [[Barcelona]]]]

In Western countries, the most common motive for people practicing vegetarianism is health consciousness.<ref>{{cite news |title=Study reveals biggest motivation for people to consider turning vegetarian |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/health-is-the-biggest-motivation-for-people-to-consider-turning-vegetarian-study-6351364/ |access-date=March 26, 2021 |work=The Indian Express |date=April 7, 2020 |archive-date=April 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430220616/https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/health-is-the-biggest-motivation-for-people-to-consider-turning-vegetarian-study-6351364/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hopwood |first1=Christopher J. |last2=Bleidorn |first2=Wiebke |last3=Schwaba |first3=Ted |last4=Chen |first4=Sophia |date=2020-04-02 |title=Health, environmental, and animal rights motives for vegetarian eating |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=e0230609 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0230609 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=7117663 |pmid=32240198 |bibcode=2020PLoSO..1530609H |doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics]] has stated that at all stages of life, a properly planned vegetarian diet can be "healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may be beneficial in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases."<ref name="ada-09">{{cite journal |vauthors=Craig WJ, Mangels AR |title=Position of the American Dietetic Association: vegetarian diets |journal=Journal of the American Dietetic Association |volume=109 |issue=7 |pages=1266–82 |date=July 2009 |pmid=19562864 |doi=10.1016/j.jada.2009.05.027 |s2cid=7906168 |url=https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pubs/1954 |access-date=May 23, 2021 |archive-date=April 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419062508/https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pubs/1954/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Vegetarian diets offer lower levels of [[saturated fat]], [[cholesterol]] and animal protein, and higher levels of carbohydrates, [[Dietary fiber|fibre]], [[magnesium]], [[potassium]], [[folate]], [[vitamin]]s [[vitamin C|C]] and [[vitamin E|E]], and [[phytochemical]]s.<ref name=ada-09/><ref name="pmid19321569">{{cite journal | vauthors = Fraser GE | title = Vegetarian diets: what do we know of their effects on common chronic diseases? | journal = The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | volume = 89 | issue = 5 | pages = 1607S–1612S | year = 2009 | pmid = 19321569 | pmc = 2677008 | doi = 10.3945/ajcn.2009.26736K }}</ref>

=== Bones ===
Studies have shown that a (non-lacto) vegetarian diet may increase the risk of calcium deficiency and low [[bone mineral density]].<ref name="Li 2020">{{Cite journal|last1=Li|first1=Jianfeng |last2=Zhou|first2=Ruiyun|last3=Huang|first3=Wei|last4=Wang|first4=Jianjun |date=2020|title=Bone loss, low height, and low weight in different populations and district: a meta-analysis between vegans and non-vegans|pmid=33061885 |journal=Food and Nutrition Research|volume=64|doi=10.29219/fnr.v64.3315|issn=1654-661X|pmc=7534950}}</ref> A 2019 review found that vegetarians have lower bone mineral density at the [[femur|femoral neck]] and [[Lumbar vertebrae|lumbar spine]] compared to omnivores.<ref name="Iguacel 2019">{{cite journal |last1=Iguacel |first1=Isabel |last2=Miguel-Berges |first2=María L |last3=Gómez-Bruton |first3=Alejandro |last4=Moreno |first4=Luis A |last5=Julián |first5=Cristina |title=Veganism, vegetarianism, bone mineral density, and fracture risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis |journal=Nutrition Reviews |date=January 2019 |volume=77 |issue=1 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.1093/nutrit/nuy045 |pmid=30376075 |s2cid=53111636 |url=http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/84310 |doi-access=free |access-date=August 26, 2020 |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026160333/http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/84310 |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2020 meta-analysis found that infants fed a lacto-vegetarian diet exhibited normal growth and development.<ref name="Li 2020"/> A 2021 review found no differences in growth between vegetarian and meat-eating children.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Comité Nacional de Crecimiento y Desarrollo|date=August 2021|title=Growth in children and in the offspring whose mothers adhere to vegetarian diets: Literature review|journal=Archivos Argentinos de Pediatria|volume=119|issue=4|pages=S77–S106|doi=10.5546/aap.2021.S77|issn=1668-3501|pmid=34309323|s2cid=242376642 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Diabetes ===
Vegetarian diets are under preliminary research for their potential to help people with [[type 2 diabetes]].<ref name=ada-09/><ref name=pap>{{cite journal |vauthors=Papamichou D, Panagiotakos DB, Itsiopoulos C |title=Dietary patterns and management of type 2 diabetes: A systematic review of randomised clinical trials |journal=Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis |volume=29 |issue=6 |pages=531–543 |date=June 2019 |pmid=30952576 |doi=10.1016/j.numecd.2019.02.004 |s2cid=86497236 |type=Systematic Review}}</ref><ref name="Vig">{{cite journal|display-authors=3 | last1=Viguiliouk | first1=Effie | last2=Kendall | first2=Cyril WC. | last3=Kahleová | first3=Hana | last4=Rahelić | first4=Dario | last5=Salas-Salvadó | first5=Jordi | last6=Choo | first6=Vivian L. | last7=Mejia | first7=Sonia Blanco | last8=Stewart | first8=Sarah E. | last9=Leiter | first9=Lawrence A. | last10=Jenkins | first10=David JA. | last11=Sievenpiper | first11=John L. | title=Effect of vegetarian dietary patterns on cardiometabolic risk factors in diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials | journal=Clinical Nutrition | volume=38 | issue=3 | year=2019 | issn=0261-5614 | pmid=29960809 | doi=10.1016/j.clnu.2018.05.032 | pages=1133–1145| s2cid=49649078 }}</ref>

===Cardiovascular system ===
Meta-analyses have reported a reduced risk of death from [[ischemic heart disease]] and from [[cerebrovascular disease]] among vegetarians.<ref name=nutsoc>{{cite journal | last1=Zampelas | first1=Antonis | last2=Magriplis | first2=Emmanuella | title=Dietary patterns and risk of cardiovascular diseases: a review of the evidence | journal=The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society | volume=79 | issue=1 | date=2019-06-28 | issn=0029-6651 | pmid=31250769 | doi=10.1017/s0029665119000946 | pages=68–75| s2cid=195757764 | doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Mental health===
Reviews of vegan and vegetarian diets showed a possible association with [[depression (mood)|depression]] and [[anxiety]], particularly among people under 26 years old.<ref name="iguacel">{{cite journal |last1=Iguacel |first1=Isabel |last2=Huybrechts |first2=Inge |last3=Moreno |first3=Luis A. |last4=Michels |first4=Nathalie |title=Vegetarianism and veganism compared with mental health and cognitive outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis |journal=Nutrition Reviews| date=June 1, 2020 |volume=79 |issue=4 |pages=361–381 |issn=0029-6643 |doi=10.1093/nutrit/nuaa030 |pmid=32483598|hdl=1854/LU-8680862 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ocklenburg|first1=Sebastian |last2=Borawski|first2=Jette|date=2021-11-01|title=Vegetarian diet and depression scores: A meta-analysis |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032721007771|journal=Journal of Affective Disorders|volume=294|pages=813–815|doi=10.1016/j.jad.2021.07.098|pmid=34375207|issn=0165-0327}}</ref> Another review found no significant associations between a vegetarian diet and depression or anxiety.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Askari, Mohammadreza |author2=Daneshzad, Elnaz |author3=Mofrad, Manije Darooghegi |author4=Bellissimo, Nick |author5=Suitor, Katherine |author6=Azadbakht, Leila|year=2020|title=Vegetarian diet and the risk of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies|journal=Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition|volume=4|issue=1|pages=261–271|doi=10.1080/10408398.2020.1814991|pmid=32885996|s2cid=221497075}}</ref>

===Eating disorders===
The [[American Dietetic Association]] discussed that vegetarian diets may be more common among adolescents with [[eating disorder]]s, indicating that vegetarian diets do not cause eating disorders, but rather "vegetarian diets may be selected to camouflage an existing eating disorder".<ref name="adajournal"><!-- The URL in this citation is problematic, as it is updated every year or so, but it provides the most recent full text whereas a link to the ADA journal site does not. -->{{cite journal |vauthors=Craig WJ, Mangels AR |title=Position of the American Dietetic Association: vegetarian diets |journal=Journal of the American Dietetic Association |volume=109 |issue=7 |pages=1266–1282 |year=2009 |pmid=19562864 |doi=10.1016/j.jada.2009.05.027 |s2cid=7906168 |url=https://www.andeal.org/vault/2440/web/JADA_VEG.pdf |access-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-date=February 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206001616/https://www.andeal.org/vault/2440/web/JADA_VEG.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Mortality risk===
A 2012 study found a reduced risk in [[Mortality rate|all-cause mortality]] in vegetarians.<ref>{{Cite journal|display-authors=3| last1=Huang|first1=Tao|last2=Yang|first2=Bin|last3=Zheng|first3=Jusheng|last4=Li|first4=Guipu|last5=Wahlqvist|first5=Mark L.|last6=Li|first6=Duo|date=2012|title=Cardiovascular disease mortality and cancer incidence in vegetarians: a meta-analysis and systematic review|journal=Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism |volume=60|issue=4|pages=233–240 |doi=10.1159/000337301|issn=1421-9697|pmid=22677895|s2cid=3671512|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2017 review found a lower mortality (−25%) from ischemic heart disease.<ref name="Dinu">{{cite journal | last1=Dinu | first1=Monica | last2=Abbate | first2=Rosanna | last3=Gensini | first3=Gian Franco | last4=Casini | first4=Alessandro | last5=Sofi | first5=Francesco | title=Vegetarian, vegan diets and multiple health outcomes: A systematic review with meta-analysis of observational studies | journal=Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition| volume=57 | issue=17 | date=June 13, 2017 | issn=1040-8398 | doi=10.1080/10408398.2016.1138447 | pages=3640–3649|pmid=26853923| hdl=2158/1079985 | s2cid=10073754 | hdl-access=free }}</ref>