People switch to plant-based diets for a variety of reasons. Some people switch because they have had a health scare or they are simply looking for a healthier lifestyle; they may be looking to lose some weight. Others are concerned about how animal agriculture affects the environment.

Excess body weight and disease

According to the 2022 World Population Review, 29.40% of adults in Canada are obese. Obesity is defined as an excess amount of weight, based on a person’s height. A body mass index (BMI) over 25 is considered overweight and over 30 is obese.

Excess body weight is caused by poor nutrition, overeating, genetics, culture and metabolism.

When a person is overweight or obese, they are at a higher risk for health issues and diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and stroke.

Fortunately, plant-based diets can prevent or reverse many of these diseases and may help you to lose some of those extra pounds!

Melina, et al. (2016) stated that vegetarian and vegan diets can help people achieve and maintain healthy body weight, which leads to improved cardiovascular function, helps manage insulin and reduces the risk of other chronic diseases.

Plant-based diets help maintain a healthy body weight

Several studies have been done to compare BMI among meat eaters and vegans. In the Adventist Health Study-2, average BMI was highest (28.8) in meat eaters and lowest in vegans at 23.6 (Tonstad S. et al., 2009).

When children and adolescents follow plant-based diets, they consume more fruit and vegetables than their omnivore peers. They also eat fewer treats and fatty foods. They develop healthy life long eating habits and maintain normal BMI values into adulthood (Melina et al., 2016),

Plant-based diets protect against heart disease

Vegan and plant-based diets have been found to be beneficial in improving heart disease factors because people who eat this way consume the most fiber, the least fat and they have the healthiest body weights and cholesterol levels compared with omnivores and even vegetarians (Davey et al, 2003).

Plant-based diets lower your risk of developing type-2 diabetes

People who follow a vegan diet, have a lower risk of developing type-2 diabetes. The Adventist Health Study-2 found that meat eaters had more than twice the prevalence of diabetes compared with vegetarians and vegans. They also found that the chance of developing diabetes was reduced by 62% in vegans and 38% in vegetarians compared to omnivores. (Tonstad S. et al., 2009).

Healthy plant-based meal — Diets that are rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, seeds, and nuts reduce the risk of diabetes and improve glycemic control.

Plant-based diets lower your risk of developing cancer

In addition to a lower risk of diabetes, the results from the Adventist Health Study-2 showed that vegetarian and vegan diets are associated with a lower overall cancer risk, and especially a lower risk of gastrointestinal cancer. The people who followed a vegan diet, had the greatest protection! (Tantamango-Bartley et al, 2013). Vegan diets also lower your risk of developing prostate cancer by 35% (Tantamango-Bartley et al, 2016).

Plant-based diets are better for the environment

Plant-based diets cause less environmental damage because they use fewer natural resources than diets rich in animals products. Growing plant-based food uses less water, fossil fuel resources, fewer pesticides and fertilizers (Marlow et. al, 2015).

If you swapped out your beef for beans, you could significantly reduce your environmental footprint.

Producing 1kg of protein from kidney beans requires 18 times less land, 10 times less water, 9 times less fuel, 12 times less fertilizer, and 10 times less pesticides compared to producing 1 kg of protein from beef (Sranacharoenpong et al, 2015).

The Bottom Line

Eating a plant-based diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole-grains and legumes can help protect you against diabetes, cancer, heart disease and obesity, while also having a positive impact on the environment!

References:

Davey, G. K., Spencer, E. A., Appleby, P. N., Allen, N. E., Knox, K. H., & Key, T. J. (2003). EPIC-Oxford: lifestyle characteristics and nutrient intakes in a cohort of 33 883 meat-eaters and 31 546 non meat-eaters in the UK. Public health nutrition, 6(3), 259–269. https://doi.org/10.1079/PHN2002430

Marlow, H. J., Harwatt, H., Soret, S., & Sabaté, J. (2015). Comparing the water, energy, pesticide and fertilizer usage for the production of foods consumed by different dietary types in California. Public health nutrition, 18(13), 2425–2432. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980014002833

Melina, V. (2016). Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Vegetarian Diets. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(12), 1970–1980. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2016.09.025

Sranacharoenpong, K., Soret, S., Harwatt, H., Wien, M., & Sabaté, J. (2015). The environmental cost of protein food choices. Public health nutrition, 18(11), 2067–2073. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980014002377

Tantamango-Bartley, Y., Jaceldo-Siegl, K., Fan, J., & Fraser, G. (2013). Vegetarian diets and the incidence of cancer in a low-risk population. Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology, 22(2), 286–294. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-12-1060

Tantamango-Bartley, Y., Knutsen, S. F., Knutsen, R., Jacobsen, B. K., Fan, J., Beeson, W. L., Sabate, J., Hadley, D., Jaceldo-Siegl, K., Penniecook, J., Herring, P., Butler, T., Bennett, H., & Fraser, G. (2016). Are strict vegetarians protected against prostate cancer?. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 103(1), 153–160. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.114.106450

Tonstad, S., Butler, T., Yan, R., & Fraser, G. E. (2009). Type of vegetarian diet, body weight, and prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes care, 32(5), 791–796. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc08-1886

Why should I follow a plant-based diet?