by Pamela Rice

[NEW YORK CITY | NOVEMBER 9, 2005] Two clinical studies were published this year that yet again served to bolster a notion many people pretty much already take for granted: vegans are slimmer and less-prone to diabetes than omnivores.

The first of the two studies, which was reported on in June, involved 55,000 Swedish female subjects. It found compelling evidence that those who identify themselves as vegetarian or vegan are less likely to be overweight or obese than meat eaters. What's more, the vegans in the study outdid the vegetarians in countering pudginess as compared to the omnivores. So-called semi-vegetarians—those who sometimes eat fish, or eggs, as defined in the study—faired about the same at the vegetarians, who were defined as those who consume dairy products although never eating meat, fish or eggs. The vegans were defined as those who never ate any kind of animal products.

The study concluded that the self-proclaimed vegans were two-thirds less likely than the meat-eaters to be overweight or obese, while the vegetarians and the semi-vegetarians were roughly half as likely as meat-eaters to be overweight. One proviso did stand out in all of this. According to the researchers, vegan and vegetarian wannabes would be well advised to eat a primarily whole-foods diet, that is, one that keeps the consumption of junk foods to a minimum, if they want the findings of the study to come true for them.

Researchers' comments to the media noted that plant-based diets are effective with weight control in large part because of the satiating properties of dietary fiber (also known as bulk or roughage). And whereas whole plant foods tend to be abundant in this regard, both processed foods and animal-based foods are sorely lacking in or, in the case of the latter, devoid altogether.

The Washington Post quoted the lead researcher in the study, P.K. Newby, as saying, "The take-home message is that individuals who have the lowest risk of being overweight or obese are consuming a mostly plant-based diet."

So, what did the mainstream media take away from the study? They were quick to note that a person did not have to give up meat and dairy products altogether (god forbid), since benefits seemed to accrue as animal-based foods were increasingly absent in a person's diet. According to Reuters' coverage, the study's findings don't "necessarily mean shunning meat and other animal products," since, according to lead researcher P.K. Newby "semi-vegetarians in the study had a lower risk of being overweight." Sally Squires of the Washington Post was a bit more graphic: "This doesn't mean that you have to forgo juicy steak and other animal-derived foods all the time."

Of course this theme came right from the researchers' official documentation. According to the abstract for the study, published by the National Center for Biotechnology, "Even if vegetarians consume some animal products, our results suggest that self-identified semi-vegetarian, lactovegetarian, and vegan women have a lower risk of overweight and obesity than do omnivorous women. The advice to consume more plant foods and less animal products may help individuals control their weight."

Plants all the way

The other study published this year that examined how a meat or non-meat diet was linked to obesity came out more specifically vegan friendly. Published in the American Journal of Medicine in September, this study found that a low-fat, plant-based diet is more effective than an omnivorous one at helping women lose weight and improve insulin sensitivity.

The study put half of its participants on a standard diet recommended by guidelines established by the National Cholesterol Education Program. The other half ate low-fat vegan fare.

The study was conducted by Dr. Neal D. Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), along with colleagues at Georgetown University Hospital and George Washington University.

"The study participants following the vegan diet enjoyed unlimited servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other healthful foods that enabled them to lose weight without feeling hungry," according to Barnard, who has often said that going half-way when embarking on a meat-free diet is destined to failure. When a person goes vegan all at once, by his reasoning, he or she is more prone to keeping on tract with the diet, because the health benefits—and apparently the weight loss as well—give a person such immediate and demonstrative results.

Vegan K.O.

Together both studies dealt a one-two punch to the notion that so-called low-carb diets can actually be considered weight-loss plans at all. Vegan and vegetarian diets usually tend to be higher in carbohydrate, the bogus bugaboo of the carbo-phobes.

In any case, the findings should be taken dead seriously. Being overweight or obese is far from simply an issue of vanity. Obesity is widely considered by health professionals everywhere to have reached epidemic proportions. It increases the risk of many diseases and health conditions, including, according to the Centers for Disease Control, the following: hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, and some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon, in particular). Even a hint at a solution to the problem of obesity—let alone clinical studies that prove a cause—should be widely publicized and thoroughly examined.

More information on veganism and obesity can be found at Pamela Rice's links page to her "obesity" chapter of her book, 101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian.

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