Vegetarian and Vegan Diets in Children Adolescents Project 2022

VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN DIETS IN CHILDREN
AND ADOLESCENTS

Executive Summary
This project aims to find out about the growth in children and adolescents who follow a
vegetarian or vegan diet chart. Secondly, to study the difference in nutrition that will take place
in case of a child who eats animal products and a child who does not. Through the study, it was
seen that most adolescents in Australia are hesitant to eat vegetables. However, the
popularised vegan diet is attracting the children and the parents towards a plant-based diet.

Introduction:
A vegetarian diet can be a nutritious alternative to a non-vegetarian one but only in the case of
healthy children. A strict vegetarian diet can lead to a vitamin and protein deficiency, thus only
vegetables cannot provide all the nutrition for a child.
The different types of vegetarian diets
There are mainly three kinds of vegetarian diets in children and adolescents:
Types of vegetarians Excluded food items Included food items
Lacto-Ovo vegetarians Red meat, offal, fish, and
poultry.
Dairy products, eggs, beans,
legumes, pulses, and nuts.
Lacto-vegetarians Red meat, offal, fish, poultry,
and eggs.
Dairy products, beans,
legumes, pulses, and nuts.
Vegans Red meat, offal, poultry, fish,
eggs, and dairy products.
Beans, legumes, pulses,
nuts, and soy products like
tofu.
The reasons why children and adolescents follow a vegetarian diet
There are several reasons, which leads children and adolescents into maintaining a vegetarian
diet. In the case of children, it happens mainly in relation to their families, like if the family eats
vegetarian meals either for strictly cultural reasons, or to follow a healthy diet, or even due to
economic reasons, where the family cannot afford a regular diet including meat and fish and
other non-vegetarian food items as these items are generally costly1. In the case of adolescents,
they can give up non-vegetarian food habits for reasons like their concern towards animals, the
environment, or their health.
Prevalence of children and adolescents following a vegetarian diet
This project aims to find out the growth of vegetarian diet in children and adolescents in
Australia and if a particular nutrient is deficient in the area caused by a strict vegetarian and
vegan diet2. There is a limitation of research surveys which focus on vegetarian diets among the
children. However, in the present scenario, a growing interest in the vegan or vegetarian diet is
clear among the public. There are various reasons for which they are undertaken. At present, a
total of 2.5 million (12.1% of the population) children are now vegetarian. And an additional
400,000 children following a meatless diet3.
Assessment of Growth
Data you will need to collect and equipment required
The data required to understand the growth of children and adolescents among the Australian
population opting for a vegetarian diet are the statistics of yearly growth of the same. The need
for nutrition is more in children and adolescents than in adults. Thus, there can be a deficiency
of growth in children and adolescents because of the lack of nutrition caused by a strict
vegetarian diet. Between birth and the age of 18, body growth is 20 folds than during any other

age4. During their childhood, a kid starts different kinds of activities like, going to school, playing,
etc. and thus, the need for nutrition during this period increases to a great extent and only
vegetables cannot fulfill the need. To be aware of appropriate growth among the kids, one
needs to keep a check on their weight, calorie count and the number of micronutrients in their
diet. Their height, cognitive and motor development is another marker of their adequate growth5.
Adolescents often try to manage their weight by going through diets6. In the process of
maintaining a healthy diet, they manage to exclude food items that make up the nutrition of their
body. This leads to a decrease in growth for children and adolescents.
The elements of anthropometry are height, weight, body mass index (BMI), body
circumferences (waist, hips, and limbs), and skinfold thickness. The equipment required for
anthropometric measurements are:
● Weight scale
● Calibration weights
● Box to sit on
● Stadiometer
● Knee caliper
● Skinfold calipers
● Tape measure
● Infantometer or measure recumbent length
The techniques which are used during these measurements can vary from one study to another.
Weights should be measured in kilograms when measuring weights, the person should stand
straight by joining their heels so that the weight is measured evenly7. To measure height the
person should stand straight, the positioning of the shoulder blades buttocks and heels should
be parallel. The length of the upper leg length and the upper arm length should be done
separately with the help of measuring tapes and scapula.
Consider the different growth charts available to assess growth
● CDC growth chart
The CDC growth chart is based on cross-sectional data from various sources. It is published by
the centers for disease control department. This chart is mainly done on children less than 36
months old8. The curves are done with the help of the national birth weight data acquired from
US birth certificates (from Wisconsin and Missouri birth certificate).

This figure shows the mean length measurements of children aged less than 24 months in six
sites worldwide. the clinical development chart measures two factors in one step. It has a grid
system that measures both kg and cm units. The curve refers to the height and weight of the
child.
● WHO growth chart
The WHO growth chart is based on the data provided by WHO MGRS, a study conducted from
1997-2003. It was a study done on children from six different sites9. The selection of these
communities depended on the criteria like:
1) Socio-economic status
2) Low altitude
3) Low enough population mobility
4) At least 20% of the mothers following the international feeding recommendations
5) Existence of breast-feeding support system

Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of two growth charts (CDC and WHO)
The WHO growth charts act as a global identifier of growth standards for children. It can be
described as an ideal or optimal growth condition for them. Whereas, the CDC growth chart
presents how a given child has grown over some time. The WHO growth chart is used as a

reference, while the CDC growth chart is meant to illustrate the growth of a particular child. It is
seen that most children are likely to grow in a more ideal way till they are 2 years old. However,
after that various factors come into play that determine the growth trends of the child. As a
result, the WHO chart is fit for tracking the growth of children up to 2 years of age 10. After that
the CDC chart is more preferable. Another limitation of the Who chart is that it only presents
data from birth to 5 years of age. The charts of 5-10 years were added later but they were
based on old data up to 1977. As a result, the quality and trends in both these set of charts were
different and quite incongruent. The CDC charts were released in 2000 and hence have more
advanced or relevant data.
Nutrient Intake
The nutrient that will be focused on in this section is Vitamin B12. A detailed study of what can
happen because of Vitamin B12 deficiency and what are food products that would help to deal
with a deficiency of the said product will be mentioned. Strict vegans are facing the deficiency of
this product the most, as this nutrient can be found only in animal products, and exclusion of
these food products in children and adolescents can be inappropriate. Here comes the need for
supplements to deal with the deficiency of the compound. Lacto-Ovo vegetarians can get this
nutrient from the consumption of dairy products11. Breast milk of strict vegan mothers also lack
B12, which leads to a deficiency for infants, and then in children if they follow the same diet.
A list of food items rich in Vitamin B12 are as follows:
1. Clams
2. Beef Liver
3. Fortified breakfast cereals
4. Salmon
5. Trout
6. Milk
7. Yogurt
8. Ham
9. Eggs
10. Chicken Breast
There are several other items which can deal with the deficiency of Vitamin B12 but almost all of
these are animal products which cannot be consumed by children following the vegetarian diet.
So, a list of vegan Vitamin B12 foods are as follows:
Food items Calorie count
(single servings)
B12 Amount
(micrograms)
Servings for a
female child
Servings for a
male child
Breakfast
cereals
210 calories 6 mcg 250gm 300gm
Non-dairy milk 40 calories 12 mcg 1 cup 1 cup
Meat substitutes 271 calories 20 mcg 250-300gms 300gms
Rice 260 calories 11 mcg 1 cup 1-½ cup

Nutritional yeast 60 calories 24 mcg 5 teaspoons 5 teaspoons
Energy bars 350 calories 18 mcg 1 bar 1 bar
The occurrence of B12 deficiencies in children
To avoid a deficiency of Vitamin B12 they need to include more than one vegan food item which
is rich in Vitamin B12 including probiotics, which can help in absorbing Vitamin B12 more than
anything else. There are several diseases caused due to the deficiency of Vitamin B12 in
children. Untreated B12 deficiency can lead to hypercellular and dysplastic bone-marrow, and
this can be mistaken as the sign for acute leukemia12. The underlying reason for problems like
anxiety, depression, and a lot of other psychiatric disorders can be a deficiency of B12.
Similarly, when children are diagnosed with autism and are prescribed psychiatric medications
may have behavioral and neurologic manifestations caused due to a low level of B12.

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