Is A Vegetarian Diet Unhealthy For Young People?

vegetarian dietIn a recent study of over 2,500 young adults, the resulting data seems to suggest that those with a vegetarian diet are more prone to odd behavior and even eating disorders.

The pupils of schools in Minnesota were aged between fifteen to twenty three years old, were studied by the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in Minnesota.

A team lead by Romona Robinson-O’Brien looked at their weight levels, drug and alcohol usage and their diet.

Mainly girls were practicing vegetarianism and this was not necessarily chosen for its healthiness. Often it was used as an alternative for weight loss.

In fact almost a quarter of this group had tried and followed bad weight loss practices such as binge eating, laxatives, diet pills and forced vomiting.

It would be worth noting, especially parents of female adolescents that a vegetarian diet taken up may have a hidden agenda and can be an indication of a longer term problem. Doctors too should make a note of this finding when seeing patients of this type.

Peer pressure during this time of someone’s life is at its worse and many girls in particular will resort to any method in an effort to confirm. On the plus side other vegetarians studied during the research, went on to be healthy individuals who had a much less likelihood of developing obesity as adults.

Robinson-O’Brien believe it is an area that will benefit from more detailed research in the future that would ultimately make a difference to the mapping out of a young person’s life.