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