Height, age at menarche, body weight and body mass index in life-long vegetarians.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated whether life-long adherence to a vegetarian diet is associated with adult height, age at menarche, adult body weight and body mass index (BMI), used as indicators of growth, development and obesity, in a large sample of adults.


METHODS
This was a cross-sectional study. Anthropometric data and information on age, ethnicity, education, age at menarche and age at becoming a vegetarian were obtained through a questionnaire. Self-reported height and weight were calibrated using predictive equations derived from a previous validation study.


METHODS
United Kingdom.


METHODS
The study includes 45 962 British men and women aged > or = 20 years of whom 16,083 were vegetarians (not eating fish or meat).


RESULTS
In men and women, there were no significant differences in height, weight or BMI between life-long vegetarians (n = 125 (men) and n = 265 (women)) and people who became vegetarian at age > or = 20 years (n = 3122 (men) and n = 8137 (women)). Nor was there a significant difference in age at menarche between life-long vegetarian women and women who became vegetarian at age > or = 20 years.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that, compared with people who become vegetarian when adult, life-long vegetarians do not differ in adult height, weight, BMI or age at menarche in women.
Rosell
Magdalena
M
Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, Gibson Building, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford OX2 6HE, UK. magdalena.rosell@cancer.org.uk
Appleby
Paul
P
Key
Tim
T
D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D014676:Diet, Vegetarian; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008572:Menarche / Q000502:physiology*; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009753:Nutritive Value; D013997:Time Factors; D006113:United Kingdom