A new study found that children reared on a vegan diet may have stunted growth and other health problems compared to those raised on a diet that includes meat.

The study was diet-may-stunt-growth-for-kids-study-2021-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conducted by researchers at the University College London and the Children’s Memorial Health Institute. They looked at data from healthy children ages 5 to 10 in Poland.

The study found that the children raised on a vegan diet were 3 centimeters shorter than their meat-eating counterparts. The children were also three times likely to suffer from a vitamin B deficiency.

The vegan children, however, had less body fat and better levels of cholesterol that’s linked to heart disease.

The study also found that vegan children had lower bone mass and 4% to 6% lower bone mineral density. This could lead to osteoporosis in later life.

“We found the vegans had higher intakes of nutrients that indicated an ‘unprocessed’ type of plant -based diet, which is in turn linked to lower body fat and better cardiovascular risk profile. On the other hand, their lower intakes of protein, calcium, and vitamins B12 and D may explain their less favorable bone mineral and serum vitamin concentrations,” diet-may-stunt-growth-for-kids-study-2021-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said Dr. Małgorzata Desmond, one of the authors of the study.

The study also found that there were negative health outcomes associated with a vegetarian diet compared to a vegan diet because many of the vegetarian meals were composed of processed foods.

“We are learning that just eating plant-based diets is no guarantee of health, we still need to select healthy foods,” said Desmond, who is also a researcher at the Children’s Memorial Health Institute.

The study was published March 19 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Here’s more about non-meat food products:

Impossible Burger Blind Taste Test! Can meat eaters taste the fake meat?

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