Weight
of Evidence Favors Vegetarian Diets for Keeping Slim: Doctors Cite Six
Studies from 2006
Plant-Based
Diet Best Bet for Losing Weight in New Year
WASHINGTON—Nutrition
scientists with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)
have reviewed scientific studies published in 2006 and found six studies
linking vegetarian diets with healthy body weight, improved heart health,
increased insulin sensitivity, and other benefits. In one study, Oxford University professor Timothy Key and
his colleagues found that men who switch to a meat-free diet are less
subject to the yearly weight gain that causes ever-expanding waistlines and
clogged arteries in middle-aged omnivores. Another study published this
year found that vegetarian women in Taiwan have slimmer waists and
greater insulin sensitivity than omnivores. Five studies in 2005 presented
results similar to the six from 2006, as have numerous other studies
published in previous years.
“People who
switch to a vegetarian diet typically lose about 10 percent of their body
weight,” says PCRM nutrition scientist Amy Joy Lanou, Ph.D., an assistant
professor at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. “Countless studies
published in the scientific literature show that resolving to go meat-free
in 2007 is the best way slim down and get healthy.”
The Findings:
In a study of nearly 22,000 people, Oxford University
professor Timothy Key and his colleagues found that those who avoid animal
products gain less weight over time than meat-eaters. The findings are
published in the International
Journal of Obesity.
A study of young Taiwanese women found that the
vegetarians have slimmer waists and higher insulin sensitivity compared
with omnivores. C. Hung and colleagues published the findings this year in
the British
Journal of Nutrition.
In a literature review published this year, Oxford 's Dr. Key and
his colleagues found that vegetarians and vegans weigh less and have lower
plasma cholesterol concentration than meat-eaters. The review appears in
the Proceedings of the Nutrition Society.
A literature review conducted by researchers with the
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine notes that between zero and
six percent of vegetarians are obese, while nearly 20 percent of the adult
population in the United
States is obese. Drs. Susan Berkow and
Neal Barnard published the paper in Nutrition Reviews.
When individuals adhere to a low-calorie, low-fat
vegetarian diet, they lose more weight and achieve greater decreases in
blood cholesterol and blood glucose levels than if they follow a
low-calorie and low-fat diet that includes meat. L. Burke and colleagues
published these findings in the journal Obesity.
Vegetarians have a lower risk of metabolic syndrome,
diabetes, and cardiovascular disease because they consistently consume
higher amounts of protective foods compared with omnivores of the same
weight. M. Vavlchovicova and colleagues published these findings this year
in the European
Journal of Nutrition.
For
an interview with Dr. Lanou or another nutrition scientist, please contact
Jeanne McVey at 202-686-2210, ext. 316, or jeannem@pcrm.org.
Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine,
especially good nutrition. PCRM also conducts clinical research studies,
opposes unethical human experimentation, and promotes alternatives to
animal research.
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Physicians
Committee for Responsible Medicine
5100 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Ste. 400, Washington, DC 20016
Phone: 202-686-2210 | E-mail: pcrm@pcrm.org
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