No-meat diet equals less weight gain: British research finds

No-meat diet equals less weight gain: British research finds

The simplest exercise to keep your weight down is to shake your head from left to right, repeatedly, every time a meat-dish is placed before you, recent research seems to say.

The simplest exercise to keep your weight down is to nod your head from left to right repeatedly, every time a meat-dish is placed before you, recent research seems to say.

A team of British scientists have found that saying “no” to non-vegetarian food can help keep your weight down. Their findings upturn the previous belief that a 'low-carb, high-protein diet' was the most effective way to avoid the excess kilos. They were surprised to find that people whose diet was low in proteins and high in carbohydrates showed the lowest weight gain.

The team monitored and analyzed the eating patterns and weight changes in 22,000 volunteers over a period of five years. The group included both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Nearly the whole group put on some weight – an average of 2kgs, in the period between 1994 and 1999.

The lowest weight gain was seen among meat-eaters who switched to a vegetarian or vegan diet for the period. Vegans are people who eat only plant products avoiding all animal food including dairy products like milk, yoghurt and cheese. Honey is also on their list of 'foods to avoid'.

The researchers compared the weight gain in each of the groups – meat-eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians and vegans. Although none of the volunteers was overweight, vegetarians showed the smallest gain adding half a kilo less than the others. Volunteers who chose to turn vegan for the research, similarly gained slightly less weight. At the other end, of course, were the meat eaters.

The study also found that exercise also played a significant role in the weight changes among the volunteers. Those who exercised the least gained more weight compared to volunteers who turned physically active during the observation period.

Tim Key, the leader of the research team, said popular belief always held that vegetarians and vegans are generally slimmer than people who ate meat. But so far it had not been established by research. To date there have been no researches, especially none that involved observing the subjects over a period of time.

The study report published in the International Journal of Obesity aimed to determine links between obesity and cancer. Prof Key works for the Oxford University while others in the team included Prof John Toy of Cancer Research UK. The study was part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). EPIC's previous efforts have established that diabetics are thrice as likely to develop colorectal cancer compared to normal people.