Caustic Commentary, Vegetarians not Healthier

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While American health officials trumpet the putative benefits of a plant-based diet, researchers in Austria have concluded that people consuming a vegetarian diet have poorer health generally, poorer quality of life and a higher need for health care than their meat-eating counterparts. The study was carried out at the Medical University of Graz in Austria, where scientists found that vegetarians were indeed more physically active, drank less alcohol and smoked less tobacco than those who consume meat in their diets. Vegetarians also have a higher socioeconomic status and a lower body mass index. They consumed low levels of saturated fat and cholesterol and high levels of fruits, vegetables and whole grain products. But in spite of all these factors said to be correlated with better health, the vegetarians had more cancer, allergies and mental health problems, especially chronic anxiety and depression. Vegetarians had more visits to doctors and put more burden on the public health care system. This is important information for young Americans to know, since one in two hundred children, or about 367,000 American youngsters, are vegetarians (www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0088278&representation=PDF).

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