Comparison between Different Groups of Vegetarianism and Its Associations with Body Composition: A Literature Review from 2015 to 2021

Background: Vegetarian and vegan diets have become increasingly popular in the last years for many reasons, including their association with various health benefits when compared to omnivorous diets. The main objective of the study was to collect recent (2015–2021) scientific evidence for potential...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrients Vol. 14; no. 9; p. 1853
Main Authors: Fontes, Tatiana, Rodrigues, Luis Monteiro, Ferreira-Pêgo, Cíntia
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 28.04.2022
MDPI
Subjects:
Body Composition
Body fat
Body mass index
Clinical trials
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dairy products
Diabetes
Diet
Diet, Vegan
Diet, Vegetarian
Fatty acids
Humans
Obesity
Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
Review
Veganism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarians
Weight control
vegetarian diet
vegan diet
body composition
literature review
body mass index
ISSN:2072-6643, 2072-6643
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Background: Vegetarian and vegan diets have become increasingly popular in the last years for many reasons, including their association with various health benefits when compared to omnivorous diets. The main objective of the study was to collect recent (2015–2021) scientific evidence for potential implications between a vegetarian/vegan diet and an individuals’ body composition. Methods: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, with 22 studies selected for inclusion in our collective evaluation. Of the 22 studies included, there were 12 randomized controlled trials, 1 nonrandomized controlled trial, 1 comparative study, and 8 cross-sectional. The overall sample included in this study consists of 436,178 participants, 10,090 of whom were vegetarians, 5044 vegans, and 421,044 omnivores. Results: Most studies, 17 out of 22, reported a significant positive relationship between a plant-based diet and body composition. Conclusion: There is scientifically sound evidence that vegan or vegetarian diets are associated with weight and body mass index reduction and, in some cases, fat mass distribution changes.
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ISSN:2072-6643
2072-6643
DOI:10.3390/nu14091853