Study says meat eaters more likely to be obese than vegetarians
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| Posted
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Mon, 27 Jun 2005 04:32:00 GMT |
| By
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Mike Burns |
| Category
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Health |
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A new study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says that women who are vegetarians are less likely to be obese than those who eat meat.
These findings mean that replacing meat products in the diet with vegetables could actually help in controlling weight. The study which was conducted on more than 55,000 Swedish women found that those who identified themselves as vegetarian weighed less than their meat-eating counterparts.
The study included those who consumed dairy products (lactovegetarians), and "semivegetarians," who said they sometimes ate fish or eggs; in the vegan group. It found that vegetarians were two-thirds less likely than meat eaters to be obese. P. Kirstin Newby, a researcher at Tufts University in Boston, said that though this was not a weight loss study, it would definitely help in planning a weight controlling diet.
The study quizzed 55,459 healthy middle-aged and older women about their eating habits, weight and other health and lifestyle factors. Vegetarians were found to have the lowest average body mass index (BMI). Additionally, 40 per cent of meat-eaters were found to be obese, while only 25 percent of the vegetarians were overweight.
Researchers say that the study is a significant pointer to the fact that not all carbohydrates are equal. A fiber-rich diet is generally advocated as a healthy one, "Plant foods are generally high-carb, but they also contain a lot of fiber -- which helps you to feel full -- and they also have other nutrients that are important to overall health," Newby commented. She added that it was important to note that eating a plant-based diet could help in fighting cancer and heart disease.
She also emphasized that meat eaters should limit saturated fat by choosing lean cuts of meat and low-fat dairy products.
Copyright,
respective author or news agency
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Eat Peta members
By:
People Eating Tasty Animals ,
Fri, 01 Jul 2005 14:05:14 GMT
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KH wrote:
"don't forget that the number one killer in america is colon cancer."
What are you smoking, even PETA wouldn't make a claim like this, not even close to being true.
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Disagree
By:
Reakon Man ,
Tue, 28 Jun 2005 21:06:57 GMT
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Dare we mention elephants or hungry hungry hippos Borat ?
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I agree
By:
Borat ,
Tue, 28 Jun 2005 12:26:56 GMT
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Cows drink a lot of milk, and they are fat.
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agree
By:
kh ,
Mon, 27 Jun 2005 22:37:40 GMT
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does this count all that rotting, undigested meat being built up in their colons as well? don't forget that the number one killer in america is colon cancer. i think it's time we all evolved and changed our diets.
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Guess I'm in the other 1/3
By:
Jackie ,
Mon, 27 Jun 2005 19:50:44 GMT
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"It found that vegetarians were two-thirds less likely than meat eaters to be obese."
I'm an overweight (lacto-ovo) vegetarian. I've always struggled with my weight as a meat eater and vegetarian alike. If anything, I've gained weight more easily since I went veggie almost 10 years ago because I no longer have the digestive problems I had when I was eating meat.
I also doesn't help that don't have the healtiest diet in the world, and as I'm fond of saying, french fries are vegan. I try to eat the way I should, but sometimes I just have to have some junk food. So, as previous commenters have said, I don't think that being vegetarian automatically makes you more health conscious.
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disagreement
By:
Chris Cameron ,
Mon, 27 Jun 2005 18:04:29 GMT
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"vegetarians are more likely to be health conscious and to watch what they eat"
Well, we may read the labels more, but trust me, we aren't any more health conscious than you. We just make sure the animal based stuff isn't in it. You'd be surprised how many vegan products contain loads of starch from products used to substitute for the animal products. Plus, a lot of our foods that mimmick regular foods contain saturated fats from expeller pressed oils, used to simulate the texture of animal products (vegan margarine for example).
"likely to have a lower calorie intake per day compared to meat eaters"
Well, that's debatable since I've seen some vegetarians eat very little food in a day, so you are right for some vegans. But keep in mind, to feel as full now on vegetables as I used to from having a nice big t-bone or two huge hamburgers requires eating a LOT more food. Last night I ate the equivalent of about 5 lbs of food just at dinner. I don't even want to mention how that feels coming out the other end!
"the BMI is a poor gauge of health or fitness"
Yep. My personal opinion is that it was probably just used as a measure to scare people who were getting a little heavy to start shedding some pounds, and people who were actually overweight to scare into going on a diet. It's interesting to note too, that if you apply the BMI to a group other than caucasians, say an oriental man or woman, the readings mean virtually nothing to them because their bodies are (typically) smaller.
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disagreement
By:
Chris Cameron ,
Mon, 27 Jun 2005 17:56:04 GMT
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"vegetarians are more likely to be health conscious and to watch what they eat"
Well, we may read the labels more, but trust me, we aren't any more health conscious than you. We just make sure the stuff we don
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disagree
By:
fm ,
Mon, 27 Jun 2005 05:38:58 GMT
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i disagree with the article. vegetarians are more likely to be health conscious and to watch what they eat, is highly likely to have a lower calorie intake per day compared to meat eaters. not to mention that the BMI is a poor gauge of health or fitness, which are more important to people than a merely low BMI index.
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agree
By:
qc ,
Mon, 27 Jun 2005 05:26:54 GMT
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not to mention the massive amount of money it must have taken to make that claim
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it took PHD to figure this out
By:
S Malhotra ,
Mon, 27 Jun 2005 05:15:12 GMT
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It is surprising that you special study by PHDs to find this simple fact. What a waste of time.
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