Good news about vegetarian diets for teens.

Adult vegetarians tend to have lower risks for many chronic diseases, perhaps because of their healthier diets. Do teenage vegetarians also have healthier diets? This was the question that researchers at the University of Minnesota recently attempted to answer. They studied more than 4,500 teens from the major urban school districts in Minnesota. Although 5.8% reported that they were vegetarian, more than half of them also reported eating chicken and/or fish. Actually, 1.9% were truly vegetarian, which agrees with the results of The VRG's poll showing that about 2% of teens are vegetarian (<www.vrg.org/journal/vj2001jan/2001janteen.htm>). Teens who followed a vegetarian diet were more likely to meet recommendations for total fat, saturated fat, and number of servings of fruits and vegetables as compared to non-vegetarians. Teens who said they were vegetarian (whether or not they actually were) had higher intakes of iron, vitamin A, fiber, and diet soda, and lower intakes of vitamin [B.sub.12], cholesterol, and fast food. Most teens, whether they were vegetarian or not, did not meet recommendations for calcium. The authors concluded, "rather than viewing adolescent vegetarianism as a difficult phase or fad, the dietary pattern could be viewed as a healthy alternative to the traditional American meat-based diet." They went on to say that vegetarian diets in adolescence could lead to lifelong health-promoting dietary practices.

Perry CL, McGuire MT, Neumark-Sztainer D, et al. 2002. Adolescent vegetarians. How well do their dietary patterns meet the Healthy People 2010 objectives? Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 156:431-437.