Adolescent vegetarians. A behavioral profile of a school-based population in Minnesota
D. Neumark-Sztainer, M. Story, M. D. Resnick and R. W. Blum
Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.
OBJECTIVE: To compare a population-based sample of vegetarian and
nonvegetarian adolescents regarding food intake patterns, disordered
eating, and a range of other non-food-related health-compromising and
health-promoting behaviors. DESIGN: A cross-sectional school-based survey.
SETTING: Public schools within nonurban areas of Minnesota. PARTICIPANTS:
Adolescents (n = 107) aged 12 to 20 years who reported on the Minnesota
Adolescent Health Survey that they follow a vegetarian diet and a
comparison group of nonvegetarian youth (n = 214) matched for sex, age, and
ethnicity. The percentage of self-identified vegetarians in the study
population was relatively low (0.6%); most of the vegetarians were female
(81%). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Food intake patterns, disordered eating
(frequent dieting, binge eating, self-induced vomiting, and laxative use),
health-compromising behaviors (tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use and
suicide attempts), and health-promoting behaviors (seat belt use, physical
activity, and brushing teeth regularly). RESULTS: Vegetarian adolescents
were twice as likely to consume fruits and vegetables (P < .001), one
third as likely to consume sweets (P < .001), and one fourth as likely
to eat salty snack foods (P < .001) more than once a day compared with
nonvegetarians. Vegetarians were almost twice as likely to report frequent
dieting (P < .001), 4 times as likely to report intentional vomiting (P
< .001), and 8 times as likely to report laxative use (P < .001) than
nonvegetarians. Overall, associations with other health-compromising and
health-promoting behaviors were not apparent. CONCLUSIONS: A vegetarian
diet may be beneficial because of increased fruit and vegetable consumption
and decreased consumption of foods high in fat, salt, and sugar. However,
adolescents following a vegetarian diet need to be screened for adequate
food intake and potential disordered eating behaviors.
