Steven Reinberg from HealthDay News reported on an article from the April 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association titled Adolescent and Young Adult Vegetarianism: Better Dietary Intake and Weight Outcomes but Increased Risk of Disordered Eating Behaviors. Reinberg said, according to Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine, "There's a dark side to vegetarianism."
The conclusion from the 2004 Minnesota based study said,
"Adolescent and young adult vegetarians may experience the health benefits associated with increased fruit and vegetable intake and young adults may experience the added benefit of decreased risk for overweight and obesity. However, current vegetarians may be at increased risk for binge eating with loss of control, while former vegetarians may be at increased risk for extreme unhealthful weight-control behaviors."
Does the Study Appear to Connect a Vegetarian Diet with Eating Disorders?
In a word, no. Nothing in the study suggested that vegetarian diets causes eating disorders. The study's lead researcher, Ramona Robinson-O'Brien, an assistant professor in the Nutrition Department at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University in St. Joseph, Minnesota said that statics in the study did suggest unhealthful eating behaviors (such as binge eating with loss of control) were somewhat more frequent among the vegetarians - especially among adolescent and young adult current vegetarians.
"When guiding vegetarians in proper nutrition and meal planning, it is important to recognize the potential health benefits and risks associated with a vegetarian diet," Robinson-O'Brien said. "Furthermore, it may be beneficial to investigate an individual's motives for choosing a vegetarian diet and ask about their current and former vegetarian status when assessing risk for disordered eating behaviors."
Are Radical Vegetarian Groups the Answer?
Omnivores have been coming under attack, for a while, from radical pro vegetarian groups like PETA and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Yes, a vegetarian diet is better for the environment but it isn't necessarily better for you. A meat-free diet is not automatically a healthy diet. There are risks. Non-animal based protein is low in amino acids, iron and vitamin B-12, all needed to maintain healthy nerve and red blood cells and help with making DNA.
According to an Oxford University study published in the American Academy of Neurology September 9, 2008 issue of Neurology, vegetarians and vegans are six times more likely to suffer from brain shrinkage than meat eaters. Researchers speculate the loss of brain mass in vegetarians and vegans is due to a deficiency of Vitamin B12. This type of brain atrophy has been linked to Alzheimer's Disease.
So, as with most things in life, the answer is complicated. The key is to eat with balance, moderation and common sense. Michael Pollan, in his article entitled Unhappy Meals in the January 28, 2007 New York Times magazine, summed it up by saying humans are omnivores... so "Eat Like and Omnivore. The greater the diversity of species you eat, the more likely you are to cover all your nutritional bases."
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