VEGNS LV LONGER

Are you Vegetarian? Do you think Vegetarians live longer?

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Posted by drzeddy on 17 March, 2017 13:52
Author Specialities: Paediatrics (excluding surgery), Paediatrics (excluding surgery) - Adolescent Medicine, and Paediatrics (excluding surgery) - Neonatal & Perinatal Medicine

The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified the consumption of processed meat as carcinogenic and red meat as ‘probably carcinogenic’ to humans (DOI).

Ask if or why someone is a vegetarian and you’re bound to receive many different answers. The reasons include environmental, animal welfare and ethical concerns, financial (meat is very expensive in Australia), religious beliefs and, of course, health considerations. Many doctors on SERMO identify as being vegetarian.

Are vegetarians healthier than carnivores and do they live longer? A 2013 USA study, which followed more than 95,000 men and women from 2002 to 2009, found vegetarians had a 12% lower risk of death from all causes than non-vegetarians. 

An Australian study set out to test these findings and followed a total of 267,180 men and women over an average of six years. The authors concluded that after controlling for a range of other factors, there was no statistical difference between the risk of early death for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Similar all-cause mortality between vegetarians and non-vegetarians was also seen in a UK study.

Vegetarians may have lower mortality than non-vegetarians. In many studies vegetarian participants tend to be more “health-conscious” – they smoked and drank less, were more physically active and were less likely to be overweight/obese. If vegetarianism is healthier, is it due to the abstinence of meat, the ingestion of more serves of fruit and vegetables, or some other lifestyle factor (eg increased exercise)? A vegetarian diet has consistently been associated with a reduced risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and obesity. Is it mostly the reduction of these which yields a survival advantage in terms of cardiovascular disease and cancer, as a recent meta-analysis suggests?

I guess we can only agree that having a well-planned, balanced diet with sufficient fruit and vegetables is certainly good for you. With some evidence also suggesting that being seated increases your mortality, I can only apologies for the microseconds I may have shortened your life if you read this article and voted on this poll whilst sitting down!