Desmond, M.A.; Fewtrell, M.S.; Wells, J.C.K. Plant-Based Diets in Children: Secular Trends, Health Outcomes, and a Roadmap for Urgent Practice Recommendations and Research—A Systematic Review. Nutrients2024, 16, 723.
Desmond, M.A.; Fewtrell, M.S.; Wells, J.C.K. Plant-Based Diets in Children: Secular Trends, Health Outcomes, and a Roadmap for Urgent Practice Recommendations and Research—A Systematic Review. Nutrients 2024, 16, 723.
Desmond, M.A.; Fewtrell, M.S.; Wells, J.C.K. Plant-Based Diets in Children: Secular Trends, Health Outcomes, and a Roadmap for Urgent Practice Recommendations and Research—A Systematic Review. Nutrients2024, 16, 723.
Desmond, M.A.; Fewtrell, M.S.; Wells, J.C.K. Plant-Based Diets in Children: Secular Trends, Health Outcomes, and a Roadmap for Urgent Practice Recommendations and Research—A Systematic Review. Nutrients 2024, 16, 723.
Abstract
People are increasingly encouraged to reduce animal food consumption and shift towards plant-based diets, however the implications for children’s health are unclear. In this narrative review of research in high-income settings, we summarize evidence on the increasing consump-tion of plant-based diets in children, and update an earlier systematic review regarding their associations with children’s health outcomes. The evidence indicates that vegan but not vege-tarian diets can restrict growth relative to omnivorous children, and increase the risk of being stunted and underweight although the percentage affected is relatively small. Bone mineral content is reduced in vegetarian and especially vegan children, compared to omnivores. Both vegetarian and vegan children who do not use vitamin B12 supplements manifest with B12 defi-ciency, however supplementation rectifies this problem. Both vegetarians and vegans have lower concentrations of 25 (OH)D if unsupplemented, and lower body iron stores, but usually have normal iron metabolism markers. Both groups are at risk of iodine deficiency and this might affect thyroid health. Children consuming a vegan diet have more favorable lipid profile than omniv-orous children, however the results for vegetarian diet are inconsistent and vary by outcome. Based on the same scientific evidence, national and international dietary recommendations are heterogeneous, with some countries supporting plant-based diets among infants, children and adolescents, and others discouraging them. We offer a research roadmap, highlighting what is needed to provide adequate evidence to harmonize dietary recommendations for plant-based diets in children. A number of measures should urgently be introduced at international and na-tional levels to improve the safety of their use in children.
Keywords
Keywords: vegetarian; vegan; children; secular trend; bone health; growth; nutrient deficiencies; clinical practice
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Primary Health Care
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.
Comment:
Dear, Consider adding a column for omnivorous diets to Figure 3. Also, when interpreting the positions of other relevant institutions, please provide a note of context. This should include information on when their position was published, the number and types, the quality of references used, and the thoroughness of their comparison to omnivorous diets. Please provide all endpoints, especially those relevant to current public health challenges, and not just those that might support your agenda.At this point, you are exaggerating the disadvantages of a vegan diet while downplaying the advantages, especially in comparison with an omnivorous diet.With respect
Commenter:
The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.