Disordered eating and vegetarianism

Recently, I found a group of studies that focused on the link between disordered eating in young people and vegetarian/vegan diets. Because we are seeing an increase in disordered eating, this is a topic worthy of discussion.

To start, let’s define terms:

Disordered eating, in this study, is any type of eating that restricts calories to under the bare minimum of what is considered healthy. It is almost always done without the help of a dietitian or doctor. Anorexia is an example of disordered eating.

Vegetarianism is the practice of not eating meat. For the purposes of this discussion, when I say vegetarianism, I am including vegetarianism and all its various derivatives (including veganism which forbids animal byproducts as well).

Here is something shocking: In 20 different study groups with over a total of 14,300 subjects, researchers found a significant link between disordered eating and vegetarianism.

While a strong correlation was found, researchers stopped short of saying that vegetarianism is in itself disordered eating. This is clearly not true; many people stay healthy on a vegetarian diet.

But, at a minimum, there is evidence that a lot of young people in particular who are choosing vegetarianism need more guidance because they are simply not eating enough. Remember that vegetarian foods in general tend to be low-calorie, and a large number of foods that are high in calories are not vegetarian-friendly.

Now, here is another more troubling hypothesis: some young people who struggle with disordered eating may be using vegetarianism as an excuse to explain why they may be refusing foods.

What do we take away from this? Here are some thoughts:

• If you are a vegetarian, make sure you are consuming enough high-calorie foods to hit your minimum caloric intake (1600-2000 calories/day). Remember that calories are not bad; in fact, they are a  measurement of energy.
• If you have children or other loved ones who are vegetarian, check up on them in a loving way to make sure they are getting the calories they need.
• If you have children who are vegetarian, be on alert for signs that they may be using vegetarianism to cover up a deeper problem like anorexia.

What you should not take away from this study is that vegetarianism is bad in itself or constitutes disordered eating. Remember that correlation does not equal causation.

If you wonder how many calories you should be consuming a day, try this handy calculator.

Photo by Magdalena Raczka on Unsplash