We all know obesity is a leading cause of premature death. Here is a
journal article.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 81, No. 6, 1267-1274, June 2005
© 2005 American Society for Clinical Nutrition
ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION
Risk of overweight and obesity among semivegetarian, lactovegetarian,
and vegan women1,2,3,4
PK Newby, Katherine L Tucker and Alicja Wolk

1 From the Jean Mayer US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition
Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA (PKN and KLT),
and the Division of Nutritional Epidemiology, Department of
Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden (AW)

Background: Observational studies suggest that a plant-based diet is
inversely related to body mass index (BMI), overweight, and obesity.

Objective: Our objective was to examine the BMI (kg/m2) and risk of
overweight and obesity of self-defined semivegetarian, lactovegetarian,
and vegan women.

Design: Data analyzed in this cross-sectional study were from 55459
healthy women participating in the Swedish Mammography Cohort. Women
were asked whether they considered themselves to be omnivores (n =
54257), semivegetarians (n = 960), lactovegetarians (n = 159), or vegans
(n = 83), and this question was the main exposure variable in this
study. In secondary analyses, we reclassified women as lactovegetarians
on the basis of food intakes reported on the food-frequency questionnaire.

Results: The prevalence of overweight or obesity (BMI ‰¥ 25) was 40%
among omnivores, 29% among both semivegetarians and vegans, and 25%
among lactovegetarians. In multivariate, adjusted logistic regression
analyses, self-identified vegans had a significantly lower risk of
overweight or obesity [odds ratio (OR) = 0.35; 95% CI: 0.18, 0.69] than
did omnivores, as did lactovegetarians (OR = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.35, 0.85)
and semivegetarians (OR = 0.52; 95% CI: 0.43, 0.62). Risk of overweight
or obesity remained significantly lower among lactovegetarians
classified on the basis of the food-frequency questionnaire (OR = 0.48;
95% CI: 0.30, 0.78).

Conclusions: Even if vegetarians consume some animal products, our
results suggest that self-identified semivegetarian, lactovegetarian,
and vegan women have a lower risk of overweight and obesity than do
omnivorous women. The advice to consume more plant foods and less animal
products may help individuals control their weight.

Key Words: Overweight €¢ obesity €¢ BMI €¢ vegetarian €¢ lactovegetarian €¢ vegan